Written in the Stars
by TechnicolorNina
Summary: Yuugi's never been good at keeping himself out of trouble. When ancient magic gets involved, he'll learn more than a few things about himself as he tries to get home. Blindshipping/puzzleshipping.
1. The Beginning

Okay, I swore I'd never write chapterfic again. Of course, I lied.

**Title:** All Hail The King  
**Chapter:** 01/??  
**Author:** Nina/TechnicolorNina  
**Pairing/Characters:** Currently Yuugicentric with no pairings.  
**Word Count:** 1 165  
**Story Rating:** This fic is rated** M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence.** Should it become necessary to edit due to "no NC-17" policy, full versions will be available on my LiveJournal.  
**Chapter Rating: **In order to keep younger readers from being disappointed when this gets into higher-rated stuff, the whole story will be rated **M** on this site. This chapter, however, classifies more or less as **K **.  
**Genre:** General  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi translates an ancient Egyptian curse.  
**Disclaimer:** Nothing you recognise is mine. Also, the positively lovely curse contained in this chapter was written by **olesia.love** (Sight the King, Victory). If you want to use it, contact her.  
**Spoilers:** For end of series.  
**Warnings:** None.  
**Feedback:** There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Notes:** I would just like to point out that in both Yuugi's country of origin and in my home state, **Yuugi is above the statutory age of consent.** If you have a problem with two seventeen-year-olds getting it on, you're in the wrong fic.  
**Special Thanks/Dedications:** For **olesia.love**, who provided me with many of the links I'm using for research and reference, and who has put up with my incessant pestering about many, many ridiculous minutiae. Thanks!

* * *

"So, let's put the week in review. Who can tell me what's happened this week? Nosaka-san?"

Miho lowered her hand. "Even though it's a member of the European Union, Sweden voted to not use the euro."

Ms. Miyamoto smiled and nodded. "That's right. There's a lot of debate on how the global economy will be affected." She pointed to Bakura.

"Bakura-san?"

"The inventor of the hydrogen bomb died."

There was an uneasy silence. Then Ms. Miyamoto nodded.

"Yes. Yes, he did." She pointed briskly, not elaborating. "Tanaka-san."

"The Canadian government passed a motion that lets them put a law on the table to approve same-sex marriage."

Ms. Miyamoto's brow furrowed, but she didn't comment. Yuugi rolled his eyes. Really, some people were just -

"Mutou-san. You have something to say?"

Yuugi jumped. "Um - Nintendo decided they're not making the Super Famicom anymore."

Several of the girls in the class tittered. Yuugi felt his cheeks flush, but held his ground. Ms. Miyamoto paused, then nodded.

"And this is important because . . . ?"

"It's the most popular 2-D video-game platform," Yuugi said. He could feel the blush creeping up his neck as he spoke. "If they're not making the Famicom anymore, that means they're only going to be releasing 3-D games."

Ms. Miyamoto continued to look perplexed, but nodded all the same.

"An - excellent example of how far technology has come, Mutou-san. Thank you."

Yuugi slumped down in his seat as the talk continued. A prime minister's visit to India - something about American politics - other things he didn't catch. Anzu squeezed his hand.

"And as some of you may be aware - " Yuugi was uncomfortably conscious of a glance being sent in his direction - "a discovery was made in the tomb that collapsed in the Valley of the Kings last year."

Yuugi raised his hand.

"Yes, Mutou-san?"

"But - if it collapsed," he protested, feeling his stomach do a slow turn, "then how did they find anything in it?"

Ms. Miyamoto looked impatient. "They dug it back out, Mutou-san. As any respectable project would. As I was saying, a new text was discovered in the tomb. Archaeologists are trying to decipher it." She passed out badly-copied sheets. Yuugi took a glance at his. He could make out a few of the hieroglyphs, but didn't know enough to string them together without stopping to think about it. The end-of-day bell rang, and Yuugi shoved the paper into his backpack. He could worry about it later.

* * *

Yuugi sat at his desk and ran one finger over the carvings on the golden box in front of him. He read the glyphs over, then stared down at the sheet between his elbows. The entire last verse was completely blurred out; Yuugi couldn't make out a word of it. He worked slowly, painstakingly. The sheet had been poorly photocopied to begin with, and the way he'd carelessly crammed it into his binder hadn't helped.

There was a knock at the door.

"It's open."

Jii-chan came into the room, a cup of cocoa in hand. He set it down on Yuugi's desk, looked at the sheet in front of his grandson, and chuckled.

"I see you've heard."

Yuugi nodded. "I want to see if I can figure it out before they do."

Jii-chan chuckled again. "Someday you're going to end up being an archaeologist yourself, Yuugi." He put a hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "Don't strain your eyes."

"I've got my lamp on."

"They're doing a special on television about a panel they found in the tomb – another image of the pharaoh that they've never seen before. You should come watch with me," Jii-chan coaxed. Yuugi shook his head and pushed his fringe out of his eyes.

"I really need to get some homework done. Sorry."

Jii-chan sighed as he left. "If you change your mind . . . "

Yuugi didn't acknowledge the statement. He didn't want to be reminded, not right now.

Twenty minutes more found him with two sheets in front of him. On one, the original hieroglyphs; on the other he wrote his translation.

"O, Thief, who trespasses against the realm of Pharaoh, embodiment of the King-God Horus, son of Osiris," Yuugi wrote. So far, so good. "O, Thief, who places unclean hands upon the relics of Pharaoh, no time . . . "

Yuugi paused, irritated, and reached for the laptop Jii-chan had gotten him for schoolwork. He moved the gold box off it absently, setting it on his desk. He opened the laptop, closed his Morrowind file – after a year he had yet to beat all the sidequests – and logged onto the Internet.

For once Google failed him; he couldn't find a single copy of the hieroglyphs' full text, even when he opened a conversion window and used Roman characters. He sighed and turned back to the page on his desk.

"Okay, fine. 'No time', a bunch of blanks, 'shall be yours.' Next verse." Irritation overtook him again, but he pushed it down. Sooner or later he'd find a clear copy of the glyphs, and then he could fill in the blanks. "Your companions will recall not your name; all those familiar to you will know not your face; your family will come not to your aid."

The final line was blurred beyond all comprehension.

Yuugi slammed his hand on the desk in frustration. "Well, that's great. Just great," he said, feeling not at all awkward about talking aloud to himself. "So it's a curse about Pharaoh and time and being alone." He folded the page, opened the gold box, and put the paper in it to worry about later. Then he reached into his bag and pulled out his calculus book.

Ten minutes convinced him he'd have to finish his maths in the morning; his brain was working too hard on other things for him to concentrate on how mass transit and crime would affect population growth. He slammed the book shut and let his head fall forward, heels of his hands pressing into his eyes. The dark was pleasant to his aching mind. Soon his head fell a little further forward, and his body slid in the chair.

See this boy - see him very well. He sits asleep at a pressed-wood desk, surrounded by a curious mixture of games and history books. Still in his school uniform, he looks both ten and a thousand years old with his hands pressed to his face, blonde fringe falling over his fingers. In front of him is a gold box, covered in the writing of a dead language. Inside is a paper covered in the careful writing of a studious schoolboy with a normally messy hand. The entire scene is illuminated only by a desk lamp, which casts an even, harsh circle of light over desk, boy, and box.

See this, and mark it well, because inside this scene is destiny. And destiny is not always a straight road.


	2. Of Heat and Confusion

**Title**: All Hail the King  
**Chapter**: 02/??  
**Author**: Nina/TechnicolorNina  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter has no pairings and continues to feature Yuugi.  
**Word Count**: 2 179  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **PG-13/T** for **language** and **lots and lots of nudity.  
Genre**: General  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi wakes up. And is naked. Also totally confused.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: . . . Yuugi is naked?  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: For **olesia.love**, who puts up with my incessant questions.

* * *

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIP!_

Yuugi's eyes snapped open, dismayed. He wasn't in the habit of catching his clothes on things, but –

A rough voice said something he couldn't understand. All around him was heat. The skin on his bare back practically sizzled. There was something wrong about the sensation, but Yuugi ignored it in favor of more pressing questions.

_Where am I?_

A cup with no handle was shoved under his nose.

"Drink it." The voice was still rough, thickly accented. And it wasn't speaking Japanese.

_Okay, I'm dreaming. I wonder if I can fly, too?_

Still disoriented by heat, Yuugi took the cup. The liquid inside was cold and bitter, and he nearly spat it out by simple reflex. It was only sheer politeness – and even as he swallowed, he realized how ridiculous it was to be bound by the rules of politeness in a dream – that made him swallow and keep drinking.

He bitterly regretted not asking the cup's contents as his vision fuzzed out . . . but then, it didn't seem to matter all that much as the world floated away into strange and fantastic dreams.

* * *

Yuugi woke up naked.

The fact barely had time to register before he leaned forward and lost every burger he'd ever eaten into a bowl that had to have been put in his way for exactly that purpose. Someone laughed derisively behind him.

"Enough."

There was more talk that he didn't understand. Someone gave him another cup. Yuugi stared at it suspiciously before smelling it. Just water. He swished some around in his mouth and spit it out into the bowl. At last he stopped to reflect.

_Okay, this isn't a dream. So where am I, how did I get here, and why am I naked?_

There was something very wrong with that thought. It took him a moment to pinpoint it, but as soon as he did he jerked his knees up to his chest. More laughter.

"You." Yuugi looked up. The man standing in front of him was heavily muscled, wearing only gold armbands and a sort of wrap around his waist. He was also speaking a language Yuugi didn't understand. The syllables sounded familiar, but made no words he could understand. The man grunted in frustration and pulled Yuugi to his feet. Chains clanked. He reached up to push his hair out of his face and encountered nothing but skin.

_I don't have hair!_

Yuugi tried to think even as he was marched out of the room. The pieces had to fit together somehow. Heat . . . rough stone . . . he'd fallen asleep . . . he didn't remember ever falling asleep at his desk before, though . . .

Yuugi's mouth fell open as he realized just where, exactly, he was. The room was large, lit with many torches. At the far end of it was a throne, and sitting on it –

_Okay, never mind. This _has_ to be a dream._

Atem was practically lounging, not at all the dignified figure Yuugi remembered, and he looked incredibly bored. If it hadn't been for the hair – Yuugi felt a moment of mourning for his own destroyed locks – he would have suspected he was looking at another pharaoh entirely. As it was, he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing when one of the priests standing near the throne spotted the approaching group and elbowed Atem in the side. The look on his face reminded Yuugi strongly of the time he'd found Anzu and Bakura kissing behind the school. It was the kind of expression Jounouchi would have called an "oh-shit face."

Atem straightened up and eyed them as they approached. Dream or not, Yuugi wished they'd at least left him his underwear. There was something incredibly embarrassing about walking up to a king wearing nothing but his own skin. A hand landed on his shoulders and pushed him downward. Yuugi hit his knees so hard he was surprised they didn't break, and he threw his hands forward to keep from going face-first into the stone floor.

"Bomani. What's this?" The syllables on his tongue were fluid, almost musical. Yuugi recognised them almost instantly as hieratic Egyptian, a language he only barely spoke.

The man behind Yuugi bowed very low. "A captive from the desert, Great Pharaoh."

Atem frowned. "Since when do we take captives during peaceful missions, soldier Bomani?"

"He threatened my men, Great Pharaoh." Yuugi frowned. As far as he could remember, he hadn't even _seen_ any of Bomani's men until he was here, bald and in chains. He bit his lip to keep from speaking out.

"I fear he may be possessed of a demon. He seemed . . . to mock you, Great Pharaoh."

Atem raised an eyebrow. Yuugi tried to follow the rest their conversation, but there were too many words he didn't know. All he could be sure of was that they were still discussing him, and that only because Atem's eyes were constantly drawn back to him. Yuugi wondered how often he'd seen a pale-skinned person in this hall, if ever, and looked away. Really, if they were going to drag him here, couldn't they have at least given him a loincloth or something?

_Does it matter? You're dreaming,_ part of Yuugi's brain said.

_I'm not fluent in any form of Egyptian, and that's what they're speaking. I can hear the inflection and everything. This isn't a dream. I'm not sure what it _is_, but it's not a dream._

Two fingers slipped beneath his chin and turned his face upward. Atem had risen from the throne and was staring down at him with an expression somewhere between extreme concentration and rapt attention. Yugi dropped his eyes. He wasn't afraid – not exactly – but there was something intimidating about that steady red gaze. The hand beneath his chin slid away.

"Do you have a name?"

Yuugi opened his mouth to answer. Something in the back of his head stopped him.

_He seemed . . . to mock you, Great Pharaoh._

The Atem he knew could say his name perfectly, but that Atem had also resided in the Millennium Puzzle and spoke perfect – if somewhat overly formal - Japanese. This Atem almost definitely spoke only hieratic – maybe a little demotic. Did the sounds for Yuugi's name even exist in either of those languages? He didn't think so. And if he gave them his name, his real name – a name their Great Pharaoh couldn't even begin to pronounce – would they assume he was poking fun? Probably. And would they kill him for it? Was the sky blue?

"Do you understand?"

Yuugi nodded, his mind racing. Something Atem would understand, something he could pronounce . . .

"Aibou."

He chanced a glance upward. Atem was frowning at him.

"What?"

"Aibou. My name is Aibou." Three sounds, and all of them were sounds he'd heard at least once in hieratic. It was short, it was easy to pronounce. And if it wasn't actually a name at all? They didn't have to know that.

"Aibou . . . " The word sounded different in Atem's accent, but close enough. "Where are you from?"

_Actually, I don't think my country's going to exist as a country for another thousand years or so,_ Yuugi thought. It might be easiest to plead ignorance, especially since he had no idea how a foreigner was supposed to address the pharaoh. He'd rather be stupid than dead. Atem sighed.

"You said you found him in the desert, soldier Bomani."

"We did, Great Pharaoh."

"And yet his skin is pale and he seems unable to comprehend our language." Yuugi could hear frustration running beneath Atem's voice now, the tone of a man trying to reason with the irrational. Yuugi could feel him trying to restrain himself as he returned to the throne. "You're dismissed."

A hand reached for Yuugi's shoulder.

"Leave the boy."

Bomani bowed again and retreated. Yuugi sat with his legs folded beneath him. If he'd only been born here, he might have some idea what he should be doing. In front of him, Atem ran a hand over his eyes and sighed heavily.

"I wish the gods would just strike that idiot dead, I really do." His eyes were tired as he pulled his hand away, and Yuugi was suddenly aware that if this was the same day on which he'd landed here, Atem must have already been on the throne for hours.

"How long until sunset, Siamun?"

Yuugi let his eyes follow Atem's, and nearly called out without thinking.

_Jii-chan!_

"No more than an hour, Great Pharaoh."

"Good." His eyes flicked back to Yuugi, still sitting submissively on the floor.

"Madu."

A young man in a plain waist-wrap stepped out of the shadows and knelt. "Great Pharaoh?"

Atem nodded negligently in Yuugi's direction. "Take this boy to Shemei."

Madu nodded.

"Yes, Great Pharaoh."

Yuugi got to his feet slowly and let the slave lead him away.

* * *

Shemei proved to be an older woman with the general air of one who'd seen everything there was to see. Madu deposited Yuugi in her presence and left with only a few murmured words of what Yuugi assumed must be explanation. Shemei turned to Yuugi and spoke. He could have cried for frustration. The hot cocoa Jii-chan had given him seemed a thousand years ago. He was cold, he was hungry, and he couldn't understand a word the woman said. And then –

"How is it you know the high speech and not the common?" she asked, and Yuugi's eyes widened. He was pretty sure slaves couldn't usually speak hieratic.

"I – long story," Yuugi said. He didn't think he even knew enough words to explain. Shemei sighed.

"You don't really speak it, do you?"

Yuugi shook his head. "Some."

Shemei groused a little, but Yuugi had the feeling it was more or less an act. She struck him as someone who'd been around the palace for years.

"And now I have to teach you how to talk, too," she grumbled. "I suppose you're hungry."

Yuugi nodded. He had no idea how to ask for clothing, and so he wrapped his arms around his middle and pulled them tight. Hopefully she'd understand, he thought as she walked off.

It seemed she did, because when she returned – grumbling yet friendly – she had clothing for him. The top – some kind of short tunic – went on with no problem at all. The bottom, which Yuugi couldn't help but think of as some kind of skirt, wasn't so easy. Finally Shemei made him stand still while she wrapped it and tied it.

_I guess it's asking too much to hope these people have ever heard of underwear._

Shemei grabbed his hand and pulled him through a regular labyrinth of rooms and corridors until they reached a kind of outdoor kitchen. A half-shadowed woman there gave Yuugi a piece of fresh bread, which he devoured. He could feel bits of sand grating against his teeth, but he was so hungry he didn't even care.

The rest of what he was offered was all completely foreign to him, but he ate it anyway. Later on his stomach might decide to rebel, but right now he just wanted food. Shemei introduced him to the kitchen slaves as Aibou. He tried to memorise their names, but their faces were half-lost to shadow and the sounds were unfamiliar to him.

He was given a duty immediately following Atem's evening meal. Apparently, even a boy who couldn't understand a word of demotic – and only the most elementary hieratic - could do dishes.

_There has to be some way out of this. There has to be._

When he slept it was on a straw mat in a room with five other people. The single blanket could either protect him from the cold or from the bits of straw sticking out of the mat. It could not do both. Yuugi's mind raced from the moment he lay down.

_How did I get here, anyway?_

He tried again to think from the beginning. He'd translated what he could of the curse before moving on to his calculus, and then –

No.

_You translated what you could, and got frustrated, so you put the paper in the box. The box that used to belong to Atem._

Yuugi's eyes went wide. How had that one verse gone again? The one with the blurred spot right in the middle?

_O, Thief, who places unclean hands upon the relics of Pharaoh . . . _

Yuugi hadn't just unlocked a door to some other time; he'd cursed himself and walked right through it. He wasn't entirely sure whether to laugh or cry, and so as the sound of slaves' breathing surrounded him and the darkness pressed against his open eyes like a living thing, he said the first thing that came to mind. It was an entirely un-Yuugi-like phrase, and yet he couldn't think of anything more fitting.

"Well, shit," he whispered, and straw crackled and pricked beneath him.  



	3. To Play A Game

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 03/??  
**Author**: Nina/**technicolornina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter has no pairings and continues to feature Yuugi.  
**Word Count**: 1691  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **PG-13/T** for **drinking** and **implications of harem-ish activity.**  
**Genre**: General  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi plays a game. And other things.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: . . . Yuugi drinks.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: For **olesia.love**, who puts up with my incessant questions.

* * *

Yuugi watched as Atem shifted on the throne.

"I'm bored."

Yuugi bit his lip to stifle a giggle. It was times like this that he nearly wished he was fluent enough to present his request to Atem.

_Hey, Great Pharaoh. Tell you what. I'm from three thousand years in the future. If I entertain you for a couple of hours by telling you what it's like, will you send me back?_

Yuugi watched Set's lips compress into a thin line. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Great Pharaoh."

Atem stretched restlessly. "So am I."

"Perhaps we could find something to divert you."

"Perhaps you could." The words were innocent enough on their own, but positively dripping with innuendo even without the suggestively deadpan look on Atem's face. Yuugi covered his mouth with one hand. Laughing here, in the throne room, was probably not the best idea. Set did his best to ignore the tone and pressed onward.

"I imagine we could find a game for you – "

"I'm sure you could find _several_ games for me, Set." Yuugi's other hand came up to cover the first as Set's face flushed – with anger or embarrassment it was impossible to say. It was stupid adolescent humor at its corny best, and Yuugi was hearing it from a glorified teenager wearing more jewelry than Yuugi had owned in his entire life – including the non-metal kind.

"I think one should be – sufficient, Great Pharaoh. After all, it's only two hours to sunset."

Atem folded his hands under his chin – Yuugi saw Siamun wince – and opened his eyes wide. Yuugi didn't buy the innocent look on his face for even a second.

"Oh, then several might be better. After all, Set – " and here the innocent expression was replaced with a devilish grin – "there's a _lot_ you can do in two hours."

Yuugi was absolutely shaking. _Please, stop. Please. I can't take much more of this._ Atem's humour reminded him of Jounouchi, only he was actually good at delivery. Thinking of Jounouchi hurt, but Yuugi was working on it. As soon as he could just talk to Atem, explain things . . .

"You. Slave."

Yuugi dropped his hands to his sides hastily. Suddenly he wasn't laughing anymore. Set was staring at him.

"You're to play."

"Wh-what?" Yuugi glanced over Set's shoulder at the throne room. Atem was sitting crosslegged on the floor, a checkerboard in front of him, eyes fixed firmly on Set's back. Yuugi stepped forward tentatively, and when nobody opposed him, he sat down nervously on the other side of the board.

The game they were playing was something very like checkers, and Yuugi picked up on the rules quickly. He was beaten in the first game all the same, and thought Atem might dismiss him. Then he saw the challenge in Atem's eye. He knew he was up against a good player – an excellent player, in fact – just one who was new to the game.

The second game was harder. Yuugi suspected Atem had been toying with him the first time, trying to see how strong he really was. He could sense some of the priests approaching, wanting to see. He wondered when Atem had last faced an opponent – especially among the slaves – who was, if not a match, then at least a challenge. He looked down at the board, and struggled to control his face.  
_I've won!_

Yuugi reached for one of his three remaining pieces – the one that would let him make one move and _beat the pharaoh._ Then he thought better of it.

_They'd probably kill me for daring to beat him,_ he thought. He had to lose.

It hurt – it hurt to go against what the Atem of the future had taught him, to give up. It hurt his pride as a gamer, and it hurt him somewhere deeper in his heart. But unless he could pass it off as beginner's luck – a complete accident – he'd never get away with it. And he didn't think he could pass it off. He could lie, but not well. He was just good. He couldn't help talent.

But he withdrew his hand, pretended to confusion, reached for another piece, drew back again. Then he went back to the second piece and moved.

Atem jumped all three of his pieces and cleared the board. Yugi could see Mahad and Siamun murmuring amongst themselves. He bit his lip and lowered his head. He didn't want to lose his chance now by letting someone read the truth in his eyes. He chanced a glance upward. Atem looked satisfied; Yuugi wondered if Atem knew he'd let him win.

_Somewhere deep inside he knows, but he doesn't want to recognize it._

It was the first time he had ever thought of Atem as spoiled, and that, too, hurt.

"Great Pharaoh, a caravan from Nubia approaches."

Atem sighed and unfolded himself from the floor. "If the caravan is friendly, let them in."

The soldier at the other end of the room nodded, bowed. Atem waved Yuugi back to his place, half in the shadows. Yuugi went quietly.

The caravan's presentation took somewhere next door to forever; by the time the captain had left his gift of spices and slaves it was well past sunset, and Yuugi was starving. Unfortunately, slaves ate last – first Atem, then the vizier and priests and all the other important people whose titles Yuugi could never remember for sure. Then slaves.

* * *

He was happy Atem didn't take long; even though he had to help wash and dry before eating, the whole process from start to finish couldn't have taken more than an hour and a half, and food was already hot and waiting.

He folded his legs under himself and grabbed a piece of bread. After two months, he barely noticed the sand in it. The only thing that really bothered him was the repetitiveness of the food. Yuugi supposed he might just be spoiled, but he was really getting sick of the same fish, bread, and vegetables day after day. Some days he thought he'd give a lot for an orange or a piece of chicken – just one.

_Well, give it a month. He can't possibly keep you here if he realizes you were just trying to do your homework._

There was a commotion from the outer room, and Yuugi looked up, his mouth full of cucumber. He swallowed with difficulty and took a fast drink from the bowl in front of him, then made a face. Yuugi also thought he'd give a lot for a day when he had something other than beer to drink. Some kind of herbal tea would be nice. A soda pop would be pure heaven.

A slave girl whose name Yuugi could never remember hurried into the room. "Get up. Pharaoh's here."

Yuugi blinked at her. "Pharaoh's down _here_?"

She nodded, then moaned as a shadow appeared on the wall. "For love of your life, up!"

Yuugi pulled himself to his feet, then bowed low as Atem practically swaggered into the room. Shemei followed him.

"They just arrived today, Atem, don't you – "

There was more to be heard, but Yuugi paid it no attention. Had Shemei – a _slave_ - just called Atem by name?

Atem was laughing, brushing her off, telling her not to worry. Then he reached for Yuugi's bowl and downed the rest of the beer in it – most of a bowl – in a single swallow.

"Where's Meri?"

Shemei turned back to the door. "Merishu!"

A little boy maybe seven years old pattered through the door. He barely cast a glance at Shemei before turning on Atem, squealing, and ran into his arms. Atem slid an arm underneath him and picked him up. They proceeded to have an animated conversation Yuugi didn't even attempt to follow; his demotic was still far from fluent, and the dialogue was rapid. Atem let the little boy – Merishu - slide out of his arms and back to the floor. Then he turned for the door opposite the one he'd come in and sauntered out. Merishu giggled. Shemei sighed.

"I'll be back in an hour. Make sure he's upstairs. Goodnight, Meri." Yuugi heard him call out something unfamiliar, and a few minutes later he swung his leg onto a horse and rode off.

"He's a regular caution, that one," she muttered. "Merishu, you should be sleeping."

"But - !"

"It's already well past sunset. Go on."

Merishu whined and shuffled, but complied. Shemei sat down with a sigh and reached for a piece of bread. Yuugi returned to what remained of his meal. He'd have to forego the bread; he wasn't in the mood to go draw more beer for himself.  
"Er – Shemei?"

"Mmm?" Shemei swallowed a piece of cucumber. "What?"

"You – you called the pharaoh by name," Yuugi said. "Can't you be killed for that?"

Shemei shook her head. "He has his favorites." She smiled. "And then there are just those of us who remember when he was still running naked with the slave boys instead of sitting up on some high and mighty throne with the crown on." She frowned. "Then again, he still does that." Yuugi watched her get to her feet. "No rest for a head slave, ever." She patted Yuugi's shoulder. "He'll be back through here in about an hour and a half. Make sure everything's cleared."

Yuugi twisted to watch her go. "But – didn't he say an hour?"

Shemei gave him a look that said he should know better. Yuugi looked back down at his food.

"I have to go inform Iry he'll be wanted in the royal chamber this evening." Shemei sighed, the sound heavier than ever. "Poor devils, they get dragged here with no idea what's in store for them."

Yuugi cleared the dishes thoughtfully; he wasn't sure he wanted to know what Iry was wanted for, but at the same time, he was fairly sure it couldn't be what Shemei had implied.

Because that would mean Atem was more than just spoiled, and he didn't even want to consider what might happen to him if it were so. 


	4. The Games People Play

This will be the last chapter before I leave for home. Enjoy it. From now on updates will be much farther apart - probably a week apart at least. I apologise, but there's not much I can do about that. (Take note that this is NOT A HIATUS: I will still be writing in my free time. I'm just going to have less of it, as well as limited Internet access.)

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 04/??  
**Author**: Nina/TechnicolorNina  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter has some hinted pairings, including **past Atem/OC of the mildest kind**  
**Word Count**: 4 313  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **PG-13/T** for **violence**, **language** and **implied sexuality**.  
**Genre**: General  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi sticks his foot in his mouth, and plays for his life.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: . . . Yuugi is naked. Again.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: For **olesia.love, **who puts up with my incessant questions.

* * *

Yuugi slid the last earthen bowl into a stack and sat back with a sigh. Some days he wondered if Atem went to bed drunk every night, or if he was just so used to drinking alcohol with every meal that it failed to affect him anymore. He heard laughter inside.

"I'll be back. Make sure he's upstairs."

Yuugi scrambled to his feet as Atem appeared in the doorway leading between the slaves' quarters and the outdoor kitchens. He bowed, and then felt a hand under his chin.

Atem's face was no more than an inch from his own, studying him intently. Yuugi froze. Atem drew away. Yuugi let out a breath he hadn't even been aware he was holding.

"Your eyes are strange, Aibou," Atem said. Yuugi cast his glance down at the hand still suspended between them in the air, rings glittering on dark, slender fingers. They were softer than any other hands he'd encountered in this world. He pulled his eyes even further away. Atem made some kind of amused noise and walked away, bare feet soft and sure on the hardpan. Yuugi watched him swing onto the horse already waiting for him and ride away, the wind blowing his hair back from his face, the sheer embodiment of freedom.

"I wouldn't catch his eye, if I were you." Yuugi jumped and turned around. Shemei was standing behind him, arms folded, eyes on Atem's retreating back, a frown fixed firmly on her face.

"What – why not?" Why did it matter if Atem took a liking to him? He could do worse for friends, even if that friendship was limited to games he'd always have to lose.

The look Shemei turned on him could have cracked stone. "Your lying skills are even worse than your acting skills, Aibou," she said. "You know why." She lowered her voice. "You don't want to attract undue attention. Not from him."

Yuugi looked down and bit his lip. Shemei left him and headed back inside.

"You'd better get in before it gets too cold. There's nothing left for you to stare at."

Yuugi turned around to protest, then decided not to bother. What did it matter if she thought he was staring? It wasn't his fault he'd been free most of his life, and then ended up chained to the inside of an ancient palace where he had no friends. The closest thing to a semblance of his old life was the man who'd just ridden away from him on a horse that was way too fast for nighttime. The priests mostly refused to acknowledge him, and Yuugi wasn't sure he could have dealt with the unfamiliarity in their eyes anyway.

No matter. Yuugi turned his eyes resolutely away, and picked up the stack of clean bowls to take inside as the desert wind whipped the tears off his face.

* * *

When Yuugi was five years old – very shortly before the accident that would claim his father's life – he'd knocked over a glass lamp trying to get his shoe out from under the depths of the sofa.

"You don't go looking for trouble, Yuugi," Papa had said. "I think trouble comes looking for you."

It was true; all his life Yuugi had been plagued by mishaps both major and minor. Even the Millennium Puzzle had been an accident – a small gold box dislodged right onto his foot while he was trying to get a deck of playing cards. If he needed further proof, the fact that he'd one day woken up in ancient Egypt was plenty. Yuugi had kept his father's maxim firmly in mind during his three months in this hell of a purgatory, and in that amount of time he'd miraculously avoided anything worse than breaking a dish. Only one, and an old one at that.

Yuugi was long overdue for some kind of misadventure, and as Shemei might have said, its circumstances only went to prove that at least one of the gods had a very, very sick sense of humour.

The problem began in the ridiculous maze of corridors outside the throne room. Yuugi had survived another day relatively unscathed – he'd fallen and left red marks on his hands while racing from the slaves' quarters to the throne room that morning, but he hadn't even skinned his knees when he landed. He'd managed to slip out of the throne room without attracting Atem's notice. And had he not stopped long enough to take a drink from the bowl Madu was passing around for the parched slaves who'd spent their day around Atem's throne, he would have stayed out of trouble altogether.

Unfortunately, he stopped, and so he heard the entire exchange between Atem and a slave girl named Ruia.

"I can't – I promised my husband!"

It was that word – husband – that caught Yuugi's attention. He hadn't been aware any of the slaves were married.

"You'd defy me?" Atem raised a single eyebrow, and in that moment Yuugi could gladly have killed him. The girl standing in front of him could be no more than sixteen, her arms crossed protectively over her chest, tears on her face.

"My husband's agreement with Pharaoh – "

"You were given into my service as a means of paying a debt. Your husband is aware that I will take payment as I see fit. And – " Atem grabbed her wrist.

"You can't!"

Yuugi clapped his hands over his mouth a moment too late. Silence rang through the hallway; even Set, that most stoic and blank-faced of men, looked shocked. Atem let go of Ruia's wrist and turned his attention on Yuugi. Shemei's warning echoed in Yuugi's head.

_I wouldn't catch his eye, if I were you._

"Excuse me?"

Yuugi took a step backward, his eyes large above his hands. Atem's eyes were dark, and in them Yuugi could see a war being fought between anger and amusement.

"Who set you among the gods, slave Aibou?"

"I – "

Yuugi never managed to finish the sentence. _I'm sorry, Great Pharaoh; I spoke out of turn,_ he meant to say, but he choked on the words. Speaking under stress was not one of Yuugi's strong points. Then Atem was directly in front of him. Yuugi cast his eyes downward.

"You should be killed for your impudence," Atem remarked; his voice was bored. Yuugi felt someone grab his wrists and pull him backward, and he bit his tongue.

_Don't make me die screaming. That's all I want. Please._

"But . . ." Atem held up a hand. He looked thoughtful. For some reason, that look – deep and ponderous – scared Yuugi even more than the idea of being dragged into the city, whipped, and killed. Atem smiled, a large and dangerous cat in front of cornered prey.

"I have a proposition for you. I challenge you to a game. If you win, you get to take this girl's place, and inflict a penalty. If you lose, your punishment stands." He tilted Yuugi's chin up with his hand.

"Do we have a deal?"

At first Yuugi couldn't comprehend what he'd just heard – already convinced he'd be dead within twenty-four hours, he was too full of adrenaline to take in words. Then someone poked him in the back, and the spell broke. He met Atem's stare, unafraid. If Atem got pissed and decided to change his mind, Yuugi would be back in the same situation he'd been in less than a minute before. It wouldn't change anything. He took a deep breath.

"All right."

* * *

Shemei made disapproving noises as Yuugi sat down in the slaves' quarters.

"Didn't I tell you?" she said, and Yuugi thought of the chickens running around outside the palace. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from him? But no, don't listen to Shemei, she only _raised_ the boy, she wouldn't know – "

"Wait, _raised_ him?" Yuugi spun around, losing whatever marginal interest the bread and dried onion in front of him might once have held.

"Well, it certainly wasn't his mother giving him suck," Shemei answered, her tone derisive. Yuugi was glad for the perpetual sunburn that was hopefully hiding his blush. "She died too soon for that."

Yuugi looked down at the dried onion and took a bite. He didn't want it – it tasted horrible – but the time for Atem's game had been given as the very next morning, and he knew he'd need his strength.

"What were you doing, putting yourself in his business, anyway?" Shemei queried, reverting to her original topic. "And after I told you to stay _away_ from him."

"It's not my fault he was harassing that girl," Yuugi snapped. His nerves were frayed like old wires. Really, every single time he tried to do something _right_ . . .

"What girl?"

"Ruia. I think she – "

Shemei groaned and put her hands over her face, positively rocking with agitation.

"Stupid, idiot boy! Don't you know he hasn't touched a woman since his wife died?"

Yuugi goggled. There was just too much information to process. A thousand questions ran through his head, and finally he settled for the most concrete one.

"The pharaoh was – married?"

Shemei stopped and leaned forward. "You're really _not_ of this country, are you, Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head. Shemei sighed, leaned back, and took a drink from her bowl.

"Atem was married to his cousin when he was eleven," she said. Yuugi's mind tried to fly away in disbelief, and he clamped down on it firmly. Jii-chan had told him years ago about pharaohs getting married young. He thought King Tut might have been seven, although he couldn't remember for sure. He only remembered being told right before a wedding, and thinking it would be absolutely disgusting to have to kiss any of the girls at the wedding _on the mouth._ Sometimes he wondered if there was some serious truth in "be careful what you wish for."

"And that was it," Shemei finished, her voice low and sad. Yuugi came back to earth with a sudden bump.

"Er – sorry. I kind of missed a little of that."

"You didn't pay attention to a single word is more like it," Shemei groused. "You're just like Atem."

Yuugi could feel his eyes narrowing. He didn't want to be compared to that – that –

_That man I looked up to, once. That man who lied to all of us._

Shemei shook her head and settled back with her onion. "What I said is that he had two girls by the time he was fifteen – " Yuugi forced the voice in his head to stop throwing a fit long enough to hear the story he was sure Shemei wouldn't tell a third time – "and people were going absolutely crazy over whether or not he'd produce an heir." She sighed. "And then sometime near the end of that year, Akana was possessed of a multiplying demon – the kind that grows and infests others." Yuugi took advantage of Shemei's pause to consider what kind of illness Atem's wife might have contracted. Cholera seemed most likely, given the state of the water, although malaria was also a distinct possibility.

"What – what happened to her?" Yuugi regretted the question as soon as he asked it; he could see tears in Shemei's eyes.

"They died," she said. "Wife and children both." She took a bite of her bread. "Atem survived," she said, the waver dying out of her voice. "Some say it would have been the mercy of the gods if he'd followed them. He always was wild, but after that he became downright unmanageable. You can't talk a word of sense to him. There was talk for awhile that he'd marry that girl Mana – there wasn't even a marriageable child anymore, of course – and – "

"What about Merishu?" Yuugi cut in, not afraid of being rude. He wasn't blind. They had the same mouth, the same long and slanting eyes. If they weren't related, then Yuugi was a sphinx.

"What about him?"

"Well, he's – "

"He's mine," Shemei said, and Yuugi felt his own eyes go wide. He wouldn't have. Even someone as screwed-up in the head as Atem wouldn't dare –

"He – he's _yours?_"

Shemei looked offended. "I suppose you're one of those who says it's immoral to serve a man twice."

Yuugi bit his tongue. He'd already narrowly escaped death once today; given the choice between being killed by Atem and being killed by Shemei, he considered Atem the much-preferred option. Shemei took another bite of bread.

"Although I have to confess it was a stretch, taking care of both of them at once."

Yuugi shook his head and blinked. "Taking care of – what?"

Shemei's look was reproving. "Atem and little Meri. Atem was only nine at the time. I could tell you stories about keeping him still in one place that would – " Shemei broke off and shook her head. "I swear I never saw a boy better at disappearing. Especially at bathtime. It must have come through their father, because Merishu is exactly the same." She sighed. "And speaking of disappearing, that's what your food needs to do. Atem is absolutely notorious for making deceptive rules, and what looks easy now could look impossible tomorrow."

Yuugi turned back to the onion distastefully. Necessity might demand, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

* * *

Yuugi stared at the setup in front of him. He'd been marched out here by two slaves he'd never seen before, and now he was just waiting for Atem to arrive and explain why there were two stakes in a circle of brush. He had a very bad feeling about this whole thing.

"At least you're punctual, slave Aibou," Yuugi heard. He turned around. Atem and the priests stood behind him. The priests looked grave. Yuugi nodded, never looking away from Atem's eyes. If he was going to be a challenger, he refused to do it as a slave. Atem made some kind of indeterminate gesture with his head, and then Yuugi's waist-wrap was missing.

_Damn it, why do I keep ending up in front of him naked?_

Atem paid no noticeable attention to Yuugi's undress – he simply nodded again. Set and Mahado stepped forward. They each took one of Yuugi's arms and led him to the stake in the middle of the ring of brush. Set grabbed his wrists and held them out. Yuugi felt something heavy and cold wrap around them. There was a click. Mahado put the keys on the stake near the inner edge of the brush ring. When they had resumed their places, Atem stepped into the ring.

"You are aware why you are here, slave Aibou."

He didn't phrase it as a question, but Yuugi nodded anyway.

"This is a game of skill. Your objective is to take that key – " Atem pointed to the key on the ring now hanging from the post maybe a foot inside the ring – "and unlock this chain." He pointed to the iron rings, attached to a long and heavy chain, around Yuugi's wrists. "You will then exit over the ring of fire."

_Fire!_ Yuugi could feel his mind trying to curl up in a fetal position and whimper. He didn't let it.

"There is only one rule to this game, but failure to comply will result in your automatic loss. You may not use your hands to free yourself."

Yuugi nodded. Atem turned away from him, and then turned back.

"Call off," he said, his voice low. "Call off, and I'll forget."

Yuugi met his eyes, steel against fire. "I don't call off."

Atem's gaze turned cold, and he turned his back. Yuugi was tempted to call something rude after him as he walked away, but recognized the danger inherent in doing so and held his tongue.

He heard the first crackle as someone – he didn't bother looking to see who – set a coal in the brush. Instead he set his eyes on the post with the keys, and made for it.

The chain was heavy, and it took all of his strength to move it. By the time he got to the post the fire was already too high for him to just step over. Yuugi stopped to think quickly. He didn't even want to attempt the balancing act that using his feet would require, and his arms were mostly immobilized by the chain. There was only one thing for it. He bent his head forward and grabbed the keyring with his teeth.

Pain seared over his lips and tongue. He flung his head toward the inside of the circle, aware even as he cried out that if the keyring went in the other direction it was Game Over, Atem Wins. He chanced one glance out over the flames, at least chest-high now. He could just see Atem's eyes looking in at him through the heat haze as he struggled back toward the keyring he'd flung. The emotion he saw in them sickened him.

It wasn't fear, or disgust, or even an absence of emotion.

It was victory.

Yuugi dropped to his knees next to the keyring and reached for it. Then he jerked his hands back. The heat was making it hard to think. Even the cuffs on his wrists were getting hot.

And then the answer came to him.

_That's why he thinks he's won. That's it._

Yuugi turned his face into his shoulder to wipe sweat out of his eyes and leaned forward. He could taste sand and dirt as he grabbed the key with his teeth. He fumbled for the lock. At last the key slid in, and turned. Yuugi planted his feet firmly on the chain, as close to the wrist cuffs as he could get, and stood up. They slid over his hands and hit the ground.

And then he realized that cuffs or no cuffs, he was surrounded by a ring of fire taller than he was.

Too late.

_No. I didn't get this far to lose. Even if he's a lying bastard, Yuugi, he was right about one thing: You can't give up!_

Yuugi picked his spot and started running. He clapped his arms over his face just before he jumped, and hit the ground painfully on his knees. What little hair he had was on fire, and he rolled. Somewhere a thousand miles away someone was reaching to pull him to his feet. He looked up and saw Isis, the one high priestess in the bunch. He let her drag him mostly upright. His skin stung terribly all over, and the world was moving in directions he hadn't known possible. Atem was staring back at him, stunned. Yuugi took two painful breaths, and then started laughing. He'd done it. It hadn't been a Dark Game – no, not that – but it had been close enough, and he had survived.

And then he hit the ground again, and there was darkness.

* * *

Someone was washing his face. Maybe his mother, trying to wake him for school, or Jii-chan. His face was very hot. Maybe he had a fever. He reached up to push the cloth away. His arms protested painfully.

"Now stop that," he heard, and whimpered as he realized it hadn't all been a bad dream. He was still in Egypt, and yes, he'd jumped through a solid wall of fire. He wondered how bad the burns were. He forced his eyes open. What he could see looked lightly pink, like a bad sunburn. He supposed he was lucky it wasn't worse.

Shemei was rubbing something cold and slimy over his shoulders. To Yuugi it looked something like a small green octopus arm, cut in half lengthwise. Aloe. Fresh from the plant.

"It's about time you woke up. I was beginning to think you weren't going to." The slimy octopus arm traveled down one arm. Yuugi took a breath. The air travelling over his lips hurt terribly, but it wasn't painful in his throat or lungs, and that was a good sign.

"I won."

Shemei's lips pressed together; even in the semi-darkness of a room lit by only a single torch, Yuugi could see the displeasure on her face.

"Yes. You did." She sighed and applied herself to his other arm. "You do know it was rigged. Either way, he wins."

Yuugi closed his eyes. Had he literally walked – well, run – through fire only to die anyway?

"Atem said you're to be removed from duty until you're able to walk without pain," Shemei commented. "And that he looks forward to your judgment."

"You know, somehow I doubt that." Yuugi tried to keep his comments short. He could feel where the ring had burned his tongue. Shemei made a clucking noise with her tongue, and Yuugi thought again of chickens.

"Oh, he doesn't like being beaten, but he recognizes it when he's beaten fairly. I imagine he won't sleep well tonight. He wanted you to call off."

"He mentioned something about that."

Shemei snorted. "If you expect me to be impressed, I'm not. You're a pair of children, both of you, playing games too big for yourselves. You could have been killed."

Had he been standing – and not mostly naked – Yuugi might have shrugged, burns or no burns. Instead he just turned his head meekly to let Shemei slime up his neck. It was anything but dignified, but he didn't care. It helped.

"Er – "

"I suppose you're hungry," she commented. Yuugi's eyes widened. He had no idea what time it was, but he guessed it was still somewhere around midday. Nobody ate then – except Atem, once in awhile.

Shemei produced half a pomegranate. "This is yours." Yuugi didn't have to ask to know it was actually Atem's. His reward for getting away with his life. If he hadn't been so hungry, he would have given it back or thrown it away, but the juice in the seeds was soothing on his tongue, and it quelled his hunger at least a little. Then the world drifted away again on prisms of light and dark.

* * *

Yuugi stepped into the throne room. He hadn't been there in a week; he'd spent the time sitting in a cool room, practically begging Shemei for light work because he was bored out of his mind. At last he'd reached Atem's all-important benchmark – walking without pain from the burns on his legs – and had promptly demanded to be allowed to work again. He'd probably lost any chance he ever had of getting back to Domino, and the idea stabbed at him painfully, but that didn't give him an excuse to be lazy.

Atem was already seated for the day; Yuugi had been reassigned, at least temporarily, to kitchen work.

"Slave Aibou."

Yuugi bowed shortly, not even bothering to make an attempt at hiding his irritation. Atem's eyes were too dark, too relaxed. Yuugi suspected he'd been into whatever substance had been used to make the disgusting brew Yuugi had drunk on his first day here.

"I assume you've used your time wisely."

Yuugi nodded. "I think I have."

He could see the irritation on Set's face, but withheld the honorific all the same. Set, after all, had not been the one wrestling with a hot iron key with no clothes on.

Atem raised an eyebrow. Yuugi took it as his cue to go on.

"You have to remember."

Atem chuckled, but Yuugi didn't miss the nervous, sidelong glance he sent in Mahado's direction.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, slave Aibou."

"I'm not stupid," Yuugi answered. "You've been waiting because you promised me a penalty, but what you've been thinking is that you can just submit to whatever stupid little penalty I give you and then have some spell cast so you can forget any of this ever happened. And that's your penalty. You have to remember it."

Yuugi saw the look that flitted through Atem's eyes before his face returned to its former half-dreamy mask. He might have drugged himself out for this encounter, but the real Atem was still in there somewhere, and Yuugi had cut deep.

"Fair enough." Atem raised that single sardonic eyebrow, and Yuugi resisted the urge to slap the look right off his face. "Anything else?"

"I think that's enough." And it would be – once the effects of whatever Atem was smoking or drinking or eating had worn off, it would be more than enough. Maybe enough to make him actually stop and think about what he'd done, although Yuugi thought that might be too much to hope for.

"Then you're dismissed."

Yuugi bowed again and turned to leave. He'd actually done it. Nobody had yet attempted to kill him for traumatizing the poor little pharaoh.

"Slave Aibou."

Yuugi stopped, turned partly back.

"You're expected upstairs tonight."

Yuugi's eyes went wide. "What?"

Atem favored him only with a flick of the head. "Shemei will explain."

Yuugi left, feeling most of his victory had been taken from him.

_You do know it was rigged._

Yes, he knew that now. And if he'd only stopped to _think_ before taking Atem up on his offer, he would have realized it. Ruia was safe – of that he was sure. Atem's interest in her had never been more than a sick joke to begin with, according to Shemei. But Yuugi? Himself? Slave Aibou?

The scene behind the kitchen building replayed in a nauseating loop in his head. Had he really thought he was looking at someone who was slightly spoiled, but otherwise perfectly all right? Had he _really_ looked at that hand and thought it belonged to someone kind? Someone with an incredibly strange sense of humour, but a good heart?

_I was blind. No – I _let myself_ be blind._

No matter. He had agreed to the terms and played the game.

And now he would reap the bitter reward that was his. 


	5. Creating Confusion

I have yet to find a job. My grandpa would rather watch TV than play cards (huh?). This means lots of writing time for Nina. And guess what that means for you guys?

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 05/??  
**Author**: Nina/**technicolornina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 4 330  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **implied sexual situations** and **general scary stuff**.  
**Genre**: General  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi takes a penalty for winning a game, and is confused.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: **THERE IS SEX BETWEEN TWO MEN IN THIS CHAPTER.** In other words, it features slash, yaoi, teh sexxors, gay love, whatever you choose to call it, it's in here. Is it blatant? Well, not exactly. I could probably get away with a T rating, in fact. But I chose not to. Also, Yuugi is naked. Again. (Does that even take a warning at this point?)  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **Dawn**, who knows why.

Incidentally, to my new anonymous reviewer, thanks (Sorry, no email was left and I couldn't contact him/her.)

* * *

Yuugi made his way slowly up the stone staircase. Shemei's instructions clanged in his head like a cracked bell. He didn't have to use Atem's title, but he did have to show respect. And he was supposed to undress as soon as he entered the room, then sit on the bed and wait.

Wait. Probably the hardest part of the whole ordeal. He could deal with the rest. But having to sit there submissively, hearing footsteps on the staircase, and then the door would open and -

_Stop it. You're freaking yourself out for nothing. Five minutes and it'll all be over._

The room was surprisingly small, and cluttered with all kinds of personal things - the ancient Egyptian equivalent of books and posters, maybe. Yuugi didn't bother to stop and think about it; he had a job to do. It was the only way he could think about it without having to approach it from the side with his eyes half-shut. Not lovemaking, not even fucking. Just a job, one more task he'd been assigned as the wayward slave from nowhere.

He pulled off the robe Shemei had provided, folded it neatly on the floor, and sat down on the bed. It was surprisingly springy, and Yuugi couldn't resist the urge to bury his face in one of the pillows for just a few seconds. Then he sat up, pulled his knees to his chest, and wrapped his arms around them. He hated feeling so exposed.

Somewhere outside he heard a muffled footstep, and he cringed as the door opened.

Atem was shaking his hair out of his face, brushing his fringe back with one hand. It looked ridiculously windswept. Yuugi watched him sit down at a small table - he was reminded of the little white vanity stand in Anzu's bedroom - and carefully unclasp the gold bands on his wrists. He rubbed his wrists absently, then repeated the process on his legs and upper arms. The shoulderpiece went next, and without it he looked incredibly small.

Yuugi counted the pieces of gold as they slid off Atem's body and formed a small pile on the table. There were at least half a dozen, and that was before the crown came off. Atem looked into a small freestanding mirror - Yuugi hadn't been aware such things even existed here - and wiped off the kohl that surrounded his eyes. Yuugi wondered what the people of Egypt would think if they could see him right now - small, delicately boned, dressed in only a simple tunic. To Yuugi's eye, he looked closer to thirteen than seventeen. Then again, he also didn't look like the kind of person who would chain someone inside a circle of fire and leave them there. He began working the clips that held up the tunic and cast a glance in Yuugi's direction.

"It's an insult to the gods to be so ashamed of their work," Atem commented. Yuugi's brow furrowed. He'd long since grown used to Atem's strange comments, but -

Atem sighed. "Put your legs down, slave Aibou." He lifted the Millennium Puzzle - no, still the God Pyramid, now - carefully from its place around his neck and set it on the table. Even in his discomfort, Yuugi thought it one of the stupidest things he'd ever seen anyone do. "Your people must be very strange to be afraid of their own bodies."

Yuugi shrugged, a very small motion with the shoulders he was now trying to hunch inward. "It's kind of impossible to walk around naked where I come from. It gets really cold there." He considered trying to explain snow, and promptly rejected the idea.

"It's become quite the game among the slaves to discover your country, slave Aibou."

Yuugi made the little shrugging gesture again. "Nowhere around here." He paused. "If I told you, you'd probably think I was crazy."

Atem cast a sidelong glance at him and returned to his work at the mirror. Yuugi didn't think he'd been wearing any other makeup, but his face and arms were ridiculously dusty. Yuugi wondered if he was going to get dragged out of here and down to the baths, or if Atem actually intended to go to bed looking like he'd been rolling around on a sand dune.

"I suppose that means you have no plans to tell anyone."

"Why bother?" _The language I speak won't exist in its current form for another two thousand years or so anyway._ The thought sent a chill down his back, and he shivered. _I'll be dead before the first words of my mother tongue are used anywhere._

Atem cast another glance in his direction. "The blankets only eat water, slave Aibou."

The sentence had, at least, the effect of distracting Yuugi from his morbid thoughts. "Huh?"

Atem's mouth quirked in what might have been a smile. "You don't have to be afraid to use them."

"I'll keep that in mind." He had no intention whatsoever of spending any longer than he had to actually _in_ the bed. No matter how soft or warm it might be. No matter how much it smelled like the line-dried sheets his mother had put on his bed in the summers before she left for Tokyo. Suddenly he was close to tears. It wasn't _fair_.

Atem stood up, half-crouched, and began brushing at his legs with his hands. Yuugi had to bite back a smile in spite of his misery.

_He _does_ intend to go to bed looking like he was out rolling on a sand dune._ Yuugi ducked his head to hide the giggles that threatened to surface. _For that matter, how do I know he wasn't?_

Atem sat down on the far side of the bed, and the smile disappeared from Yuugi's face. _Five minutes and it'll be over,_ he'd tried to tell himself, but suddenly five minutes might as well have been five hours, and on a bed of nails instead of feathers. He had no idea how long it took to become a whore, but he imagined he was already well on his way there, and the idea hurt.

Yuugi felt a hand on his stomach, warm skin and cool gold, and promptly shut his eyes to block out the room. Instead he thought of the time when he and Anzu were thirteen and he'd taken her to a movie for her birthday, and afterward he'd managed to talk her into going out for a milkshake. If he'd been able to kiss her goodnight instead of spending the night on the living room floor in a pair of sleeping bags, talking about the movie until two in the morning, he might even have been able to call it a date. Sometimes when he was feeling particularly pessimistic, he did. It was the closest he'd ever come, anyway.

_I'm having sex and I've never even been on a real date,_ he thought, and here he was back to _that_. It wasn't horrible - he supposed, on some level, that he should be grateful Atem seemed to have at least some idea what he was doing - but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted it to be anything but. If it had been nothing but an obligation, it might not have mattered later. He forced himself back into the memory world he'd built for himself years before, two teenagers laying in sleeping bags, giggling quietly with a flashlight between them, Anzu talking about how sweet it was and Yuugi blithely agreeing with everything she said without having the slightest idea what he was agreeing with. It had been some Disney movie with a magic lamp and a beggar who fell in love with a princess.

_Oh, and by the way, Yuugi, just in case you haven't noticed, you're not in love with anyone and you're -_

"Just shut _up_ already," he half-whispered, switching from hieratic to Japanese without even thinking about it. Conscious thought blanked out for a few seconds, and when it returned he was appalled to feel a sticky, spreading warmth between his legs.

_Okay,_ that_ wasn't supposed to happen._

The breathing behind him had grown slow and deep. Yuugi moved to slip out of the bed, trying to be quiet. _Just following instructions, sir._

A hand landed on top of his, and Yuugi froze.

"Stay, little Aibou."

_Great. He's only an inch taller than me and even he's calling me little now. Do all your sex toys get nicknames, Great Pharaoh?_

Yuugi swung his legs back under the covers, feeling grateful for the soft and warm mattress beneath him, and also perversely guilty for not being back in the slaves' quarters somewhere below the ground.

As he fell asleep he thought he heard something whispered to him, low and gentle, the wind on a summer night, but he was gone before he could be sure the sound was words.

* * *

Yuugi was having a dream, a good one. Most people he knew didn't like flying dreams, but somehow when Yuugi was having flying dreams he always landed in the old treehouse in Anzu's backyard, and someone was always there waiting to play. Today it was his other self, sitting crosslegged with a checkerboard in front of him and a pair of gold wristbands instead of leather cuffs. Yuugi stopped to watch the other Yuugi's game. He was playing as black, and though nobody sat on the other side of the board, the red pieces were moving all the same. The other Yuugi's invisible opponent seemed ridiculously good; almost all of red's pieces were still on the board, but about half of the black ones were missing. Yuugi watched as one of the red pieces jumped over a black piece.

"The crownless again shall be king!" it squeaked, in a voice very like Jii-chan's, and Yuugi smiled. It was a line from one of his favorite books, one he and Jii-chan had read together when Yuugi was nine or ten.

The other Yuugi examined the board and made a kind of contemplative noise. Then he moved one his pieces.

"King me."

Nothing happened to the piece on the board, but Yuugi could see a pair of gold armbands tracing themselves halfway between his shoulders and elbows.

_No, don't,_ he thought. He wasn't sure why the armbands were a bad thing - he couldn't quite remember - but they were.

Red jumped another of the other Yuugi's pieces.

"Prince Ali, mighty is he!" the piece sang out in Anzu's voice, pretty and light, and it was the movie he'd gone to see with her a couple of years ago. Yuugi looked around, expecting to see her - surely if the other Yuugi was up here she must be keeping him company - but she was nowhere to be found.

The other Yuugi moved another black piece and stacked it neatly on top of the first.

"God me."

Yuugi opened his mouth to protest - as far as he was aware, there was no god piece in checkers - and then he saw a flash of gold as the Millennium Puzzle appeared around the other Yuugi's neck. He wondered how he hadn't realised before that it was missing; it was, after all, incredibly hard to not see.

Red moved again, and another of the other Yuugi's pieces was removed from the board.

"Born to be kings, we're the princes of the universe!" Off-key but mellow and full-hearted, Jounouchi singing the song from one of his favorite music videos - the one with the man swordfighting with a microphone stand.

The other Yuugi moved a piece from the middle of the board.

"The one who completes me will gain the powers of darkness," he said, and Yuugi felt a swirl of cold air against his skin. It wasn't like the air he'd felt on the few occasions that he and Anzu had brought a battery-operated space heater out here and had hot chocolate while the snow swirled down outside; it was cooler and somehow almost _solid_, like a hand made of compressed air brushing over his arm.

Red moved defensively.

"You are the dancing queen, young and sweet!" A song he'd heard Mama-san sing while she danced around the living room, straightening up before Papa-san came home for four whole days. The voice was a thousand sounds, none of them quite close enough to be right.

The other Yuugi moved his second piece to one of red's home squares.

"King me," and a golden band - something like a crown - materialised above his eyes. Yuugi took a step back toward where the door should be; he wasn't entirely sure why he was afraid, but suddenly he didn't want to be here anymore.

"The wicked witch cast a spell on Princess Anzu, and all the people cried," his own voice said, quiet and excited and much higher than it was now. Yuugi recognised the line as part of a story he and Anzu had made up - or rather, adapted for their own purposes - during a sleepover when they were nine. Just Princess Anzu and Prince Yuugi, the brave knight ready to kill a witch-turned-dragon to release the pretty girl from a horrible sleeping spell.

Another move for the other Yuugi, and "your companions will recall not your name." Yuugi felt another eddy of cold swirl around him, and shivered.

"The blankets only eat water, aibou," the other Yuugi said, and was his skin darker than it had been? Yuugi felt along the wall for the crooked doorknob that would let him out. He thought it might have finally fallen off - it was nowhere to be found.

Red's move.

"Hey, we're like invisible men! We can sneak into all the harems!" Jounouchi again, and the other Yuugi let out a derisive snort. Yuugi cast a glance around. The battered bookshelf, longtime home of such familiar friends as Frodo Baggins and Ali Baba, was directly across from him. The door was behind him. /i Had /i to be. Had been there since Anzu's father had helped them build this place when they were seven, and Yuugi had screwed the doorknob on wrong. Only one doorknob, because the door swung in and was pushed from the outside.

"Your eyes are strange, aibou," the other Yuugi said, his own eyes darker than they had been and outlined neatly with kohl, and Yuugi abandoned all pretense, banging at the wall behind him with the flats of his hands.

"Don't you want to play?"

No, Yuugi did not want to play; Yuugi wanted to get through the door and fly again, and find his way to the _real_ treehouse, where Anzu would be waiting with hot chocolate and Pocky (and maybe a couple of kisses). Yuugi wanted to get as far as he could from the boy-man-spirit sitting on the floor in simple white clothes and gold jewelery. All the same, he made for the board and sat down.

"What are we playing?"

The other Yuugi lunged forward, knocking Yuugi backward, and pinned his wrists above his head.

Yuugi screamed.

* * *

He sat up, breathing heavily, and reached for the alarm clock on the nightstand. His hand was halfway there when he remembered that he wasn't in his own bed in Domino; there were only two clocks here, one called "sun" and one called "moon."

Atem was sitting at the little table, outlining his eyes with a small stick of kohl. He put it down when Yuugi leaned forward, trying to catch his breath, and reached for the small pitcher near the back of the table. He poured a bowl of water and carried it to the bed.

"Drink."

Yuugi tried to take the bowl, but he was shaking too much. The dream hadn't been horrible - he'd suffered much worse nightmares after his father had died - but something about it had been enough to terrify him far more than his early teenage dreams about dying, or being chased down a dark and narrow alley, or any one of a thousand other horrible scenarios. He felt a firm hand on his shoulder, and then the bowl was in front of his mouth. Something in him recognised the irony - here sits pharaoh, playing servant to the slave boy - and it was enough to put him back on a mostly-even footing. Later he might even be able to laugh at it. He drank, and somewhere in the middle of a swallow was able to take the bowl himself.

Atem stood up and headed back to the table. Yuugi watched him sit down and go back to his kohl. Yuugi wondered how many months it had taken to learn how to apply it cleanly and evenly with only a single torch for light.

"Why do you wear that stuff?"

Atem put the stick back on the table. "This?"

Yuugi nodded. "Yeah."

Atem leaned forward to take care of a smudge. "Because I never know when I'm going to end up outside, and I hate having to squint."

"Wish I could do that." It was the truth; washing morning dishes was quite possibly the worst chore Yuugi had ever been forced to do. The sun was hot, but the glare off the sand was the part Yuugi hated the most. Yuugi sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed, then reached for the robe still folded on the floor.

"Come here."

Yuugi folded the robe carefully around himself and made for the table.

"Sit down."

Yuugi folded his legs under himself obediently. Maybe if he proved he could listen, this would be it. He could go back to just being a kitchen slave, or maybe working in the throne room, and he could try to start over. He could be back in Domino within a season.

Atem swung his legs around on the bench and bent over Yuugi's face.

"Close your eyes."

Yuugi did, and jumped when he felt a hand on his face.

"Don't do that." Something thin and slightly sharp - though not sharp enough to cut - ran beneath his eye, and Yuugi resisted the urge to rub at it. The strange sensation repeated itself below his other eye, and then Atem started laughing.

"You look ridiculous."

Yuugi opened his eyes. Atem laughed even louder. Finally he handed Yuugi the small mirror from the tabletop.

At first Yuugi felt like he was looking at a stranger; he hadn't seen his own face in three months, and it looked different than he remembered. Then he realised that three months was more than enough time to lose the baby-face and gain a permanent tan. The eyes staring back at him seemed incongruously large and improbably coloured in the thin, dark frame surrounding them, and Atem was right - the thick black lines beneath them did nothing to improve matters. Yuugi thought "ridiculous" might be pushing it a bit, but his appearance could hardly be classified as normal even in Egypt.

Yuugi felt his face being turned.

"Close your eyes."

Yuugi did. The tone was mocking, but the hand neatening up the lines was gentle, and -

_You just quit it, Mutou Yuugi. He's probably having the time of his life trying to screw with your head, that's all._

"There." The hand withdrew, and Yuugi opened his eyes again. This time Atem didn't laugh. "Much better." He put the stick of kohl back on the table, took the mirror from Yuugi's hands, and slid the crown into place. He didn't look so small anymore, but to Yuugi he still looked different than he had the night before.

_Of course he looks different. You've seen him naked._

"I should - probably get going," Yuugi said, as he realised just how late it must be. Atem never made it to the throne room until a good hour after sunrise.

"Why?"

"I have work to do," Yuugi answered, and could have slapped himself for the impatience in his voice. _Way to get back on his good side, genius._

"Nobody but the priests will be waiting for you, little Aibou. It's still an hour to cock-crow."

"An _hour_?" _It's not even sunrise yet?_

Atem cast an amused glance in Yuugi's direction. "Well, you've proven you can hear." He swung his legs around the bench and pushed it neatly beneath the table. "I also have work this morning, and I want to eat first." Yuugi scrambled to his feet. "I suppose we'll have to walk together at least part of the way in any case."

* * *

Yuugi was glad he'd decided to not ask about how exactly Atem planned to eat when everyone was still sleeping; like a good riddle, the answer was perfectly obvious once it was revealed. In the kitchen quarter was a sort of pantry, the magical place from which Shemei produced things like fruit, vegetables, and cheese. Atem slipped inside, and returned with a bowl full of pea pods and a loaf of bread baked the night before. Yuugi left to get dressed - if going from a robe to a waist-wrap could be called "getting dressed" - and then headed outside to rake out the ovens. It was criminally early, yes, but Yuugi knew perfectly well he'd fall asleep just in time for people to start getting up if he laid down. 

He was surprised to see Atem sitting near one of the ovens, in the same place a slave would sit to bake bread. Yuugi skirted him, carefully raking out last night's ashes and putting them aside. He was hazy on their use - he thought it had something to do with either pottery or soap - but Shemei would have his head if he let them go to waste. He hesitated when he realised Atem was still sitting in front of the only uncleaned oven; even a working slave didn't have the right to unseat the pharaoh. Finally he simply made to put his tools away. If someone wanted to complain, they could ask Atem why he'd been sitting in front of an oven at five in the morning to begin with.

Atem stopped him. "You might want to find out who was working here last night. She's new."

Yuugi stared. Yes, Atem had the magic of the God Pyramid, and Yuugi was pretty sure he was one of the few people here who knew exactly what that meant, but there was such a thing as taking a joke too far.

"How can you tell?"

Atem patted the ground, and Yuugi sat. Atem took his hands, disregarding completely the ashes covering them, and held them in front of the oven. The heat Yuugi felt was much too warm to be from Atem's own hands.

"It's overloaded. The coals are still hot." He let go of Yuugi's hands. "Better you should warn her now than Shemei should scare her senseless later."

"Why do you care?" Yuugi bit his tongue. It was exactly that attitude that had landed him here, raking out ovens before daylight, in the first place. But far from looking upset, Atem actually _smiled_.

"I thought you'd be the one to ask me that. The simple answer is that you people make my life a lot easier. The gods don't smile on those who disregard service." Atem finished his bread, then looked at the two or three pea pods still unopened in the bottom of the bowl. He held the bowl out to Yuugi. "Want one?"

Yuugi took one of the unopened pods, hesitated, and took one of the pealess ones, as well. He'd never eaten raw peas, but he did remember sitting in the kitchen with his mother when he'd been a very little kid, and as she'd shelled peas into a bowl for dinner she'd given him the empty pods to play with. Instead, Yuugi had eaten them, and he'd had a fondness for them ever since. He bit into the one he'd taken from the bowl. It was tough but sweet, and possessed of that strangely juicy quality peas themselves never seemed to have. Atem shook his head.

"You're crazy, little Aibou."

Yuugi swallowed his bite of pod. "What? They're good." He used the edge of his thumbnail to cut open the pod Atem had given him, and tried the peas inside. He wrinkled his nose. The pods were good, that was true, but he thought he'd always prefer peas cooked. Atem started laughing.

"Not so much to your taste?"

Yuugi shook his head sheepishly. He supposed he should feel honoured - to recieve food from the hand of the pharaoh himself! now that was something that didn't happen every day - but all he could think of was how _grainy_ they tasted. Atem reached out and scooped the peas out of the pod, then downed them in a single swallow. Yuugi looked down at the empty pod in surprise. After spending two years with Atem living in his head he probably shouldn't have been surprised at the speed with which the pod went from full to empty, but even after that kind of time there was still something spooky about it. All the same, he didn't protest - he only took a bite of the pod and chewed it slowly. Atem cast a glance upward. The sky was still black, but the stars had disappeared. He set his bowl on the ground and stood up, brushing his hands together to clear them of ash.

"Mind you talk to that girl," he said. "I'll see you tonight." He walked off without another word.

_You've got to be _kidding_ me. He was actually being decent, and then he -_

Yuugi cut the thought off before it could complete itself. Atem was bored, that was all, and Yuugi had been convenient to talk to. He sighed and turned to the overloaded oven. Maybe if he raked the coals out, they would be cool by sunrise.


	6. A Time For Everything

I don't know when I'll get to an Internet-connected computer again. So here you go - you now have everything I have. Enjoy it, make it last. You might not see me again for a couple of weeks.

Oh, incidentally, there is blatant fanservice in this chapter. If you enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it (what's not to love about a water fight when it's twenty degrees and snowy outside my window?), you'll love it. And I apologise to Miss Congeniality for stealing some of its brilliant dialogue. (Poor Yuugi. He's the girl. AGAIN.)

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 06/??  
**Author**: Nina/TechnicolorNina  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping**. And I should probably warn here for **images of scandalshipping [Atem/Set**, which is all the fault of Yuugi's overactive imagination.  
**Word Count**: 4 741  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **implied abuse** and **nudity**.  
**Genre**: General  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Atem is not an asshole. Yuugi fears fanservice.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Yuugi is naked. Again. For extended periods of time. So is Atem. (I probably should have warned for that last chapter, shouldn't I?)  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **olesia.love** and **Dawn**, who were both a big help on this chapter

* * *

Yuugi scratched the back of his leg surreptitiously with his foot and wished desperately to be back in the kitchen. Working in the throne room had never seemed so boring before. He could only imagine how Atem felt, trapped on the throne discussing some kind of policy while a playful breeze whirled around the outside of the palace. It was a day that practically begged someone to come play.

Yuugi jerked to attention at the sound of a struggle in the hallway. Atem sat up straighter and leaned forward as two soldiers led a screaming, sobbing girl into the room. She was covered in blood and dirt, and the wrap covering her was all but shredded.

"What is this?" Yuugi could hear anger in Atem's voice, cold and slightly bewildered beneath the imperious tone.

"A murderer brought here for your judgment, Great Pharaoh." One of the soldiers bowed low. Yuugi took a closer look at the girl and thought privately that he'd never seen anyone who looked less like a murderer; her arms and legs were sticks, and she seemed to be struggling just to stay on her feet. One of the soldiers forced her to her knees.

"Enough." The anger was clearer now, some animal with long claws just waiting to reach out and scratch. "What are the charges?"

"Her husband was found with a knife through his heart and she with blood still drying on her skin, Great Pharaoh. Her neighbor accosted a passing guard to retrieve her."

Yuugi bit his lip and looked at his feet. He knew enough from Atem's memories to know what happened to people convicted of crimes under this regime. She could be no older than he was; he didn't want to watch her die.

"It's fine, Set."

Yuugi let his eyes snap back to the scene playing out in front of the throne. The girl was still sobbing on the floor, the soldiers still at at attention behind her shoulders, but now Atem was standing and Set's hand was on his arm. Atem shook it off and moved to kneel in front of the girl. He raised her face with one hand, a gesture Yuugi knew well, and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She flinched away, quivering.

"Who are you?"

The girl's lips moved, but no sound was forthcoming. Atem motioned to Madu.

"Get her some water, would you?"

Madu nodded and slipped away. Yuugi couldn't help but think that Atem was killing with kindness; giving water to a girl so weak was practically begging for her to get some kind of really horrible, uncurable disease.

Atem took the bowl Madu offered him and put it in the girl's hands.

"Drink."

The girl did. Atem took the bowl gently out of her hands, and she shrank away again. Yuugi wondered if Atem realised what that might mean. He thought the answer might be yes; when Atem spoke again, his tone was low, and gentler than any Yuugi had ever heard him use.

"Do you know why you're here?"

The girl nodded abruptly, her eyes fixed on her hands.

"Can you tell me who you are?"

The girl's lips trembled. Yuugi thought she might start crying again.

"Do you understand?"

The nod came again. Beneath the dirt, her skin was ashen. Yuugi thought he might know now why Atem was sitting on the floor. If the slip of a girl in front of him was forced to stand, it would be a matter of minutes before she fainted.

"Do you have a name?"

Finally an answer came, a thin and wavering sound.

"My name is Idut."

Had Yuugi been the kind to bet heartlessly and thoughtlessly on games, he might have laid a wager then on who would pass out first. The color drained from Atem's face, and his eyes went wide.

"What did you say?"

"My name is Idut."

Set stepped forward. Atem waved him back, but the gesture was that of a blind man. His world had shrunk to the girl in front of him.

"Idut . . . " Yuugi watched him clamp down on whatever internal shock he'd had - could almost see him do it.

"Do you know who I am?"

Idut didn't even whisper, but Yuugi saw her lips form the word "Pharaoh."

"Will you tell me what happened?"

Idut's shoulders heaved, and she started to cry again. Then, finally, she spoke.

The story she had to tell was a short one; her parents had married her off a year before. She had given birth to her first child only the day before, and early. Atem raised his eyes to the soldiers behind her.

"Did you find a child?"

"Already shrouded, Great Pharaoh."

Atem lowered his eyes back to Idut's face.

"Your child was stillborn?"

Idut nodded. Yuugi wondered how much longer she could hold out before collapsing - he could see dark circles under her eyes. She pushed onward, as though she hoped to be rid of her grief by telling her story. Her husband, far from grieving with her, had grown furious; he had no use for a wife who couldn't provide a child. Here Idut's narration ceased abruptly. Atem raised his eyes to the priests standing on either side of them, as though asking guidance. Then he looked back to Idut.

"Did he threaten you?"

Idut nodded, her face turned downward once again. Yuugi thought there was something reluctant about it, something that positively screamed out fear and shame. The rest of the story was easy to guess - frightened and possibly seconds from being killed herself, she must have grabbed a knife from some convenient surface. Adrenaline and fear had provided the strength her own body could not.

Atem rocked his weight back onto his heels and sighed. Yuugi sympathised with him; holding a one-sided conversation was anything but easy. Atem reached out to push Idut's hair out of her face again, and stopped short. A murmur ran through the line of slaves around the throne. The marks on her face were clear and ugly even through the bloody, dirty mask.

Atem touched the side of her face gently. "Did your husband do this?"

Idut's only answer was to shrink away yet again, turning her head to hide the bruises above her eyes, and Atem's lips compressed into a thin line.

"I think the gods have already handed out all the punishment due here." He put a hand on Idut's shoulder, light and comforting. Yuugi found it hard to imagine that hand belonging to the same Atem who only three weeks ago had mercilessly harassed another girl right outside this room.

"You have nothing to fear from any man in this place," he said. "Aibou."

Yuugi jumped. He'd never been addressed by name in this room before.

"Great Pharaoh?"

"Take this woman to the kitchens and get her something to eat."

Yuugi nodded, accepting both the direct command and the implied one. He was to find her something to eat; Shemei would get her clothes and water to wash with. Idut's eyes were still fixed downward; with the exception of the few seconds Atem had managed to pull her face up to look into his own, Yuugi didn't think she'd even looked at anyone else in the room. Atem stood up slowly, getting first to his knees and then to his feet. He reached for Idut's hands and pulled her up with him, then pointed at Yuugi.

"You can go with him," he encouraged. Idut took two unsure steps, and Yuugi held out a hand for her to take. She stared at it as though she'd never seen one before. Finally he simply put an arm loosely around her waist; he wasn't going to let her fall when he wasn't sure he'd be able to get her up. He turned her away from the throne, and led her away.

* * *

It took nearly twenty minutes to escort Idut from the throne room to the kitchens, retrieve some bread for her, and turn her over to Shemei. Yuugi took the return trip at a dead run - he had no idea when he was expected back. He came back just in time to walk into the midst of an argument between Atem and Set. Such arguments were nothing new, and Yuugi had come to ignore them; they happened at least twice a week, and ranged from simple disagreements solved in thirty seconds to the kind of fights that would likely have led to blows if they'd been in Yuugi's schoolyard instead of a throne room. Jii-chan would have said they fought like an old married couple.

_That's fine. Just as long as I never have to watch them kiss and make up._

The thought, of course, brought on mental images of the two of them doing exactly that, and Yuugi grimaced as he slid back into his place.

"She's in absolutely no state fit to be sent back home - if her home still stands, even - and I'm not going to be responsible for her being lynched. That's _final,_ Set."

"We can't find a place for every stray the soldiers bring in."

Yuugi's eyebrows went up, and the thought came to him before he could stop it.

_No 'Great Pharaoh?' It's gonna take a lot more than kissing to fix this one. Oh, god, Yuugi, why did you _do_ that to yourself?_

He could hear a quiet murmuring beginning among the slaves; he wasn't the only one who'd picked up on where this fight was going.

"You know as well as I do there's a place for her, Set. If nothing else she can take care of Meri."

"Isn't that Shemei's job?"

The look Atem offered him was both long-suffering and dangerous. Yuugi bit down hard on the insides of his cheeks, but even so was having a hard time denying the internal imp that wanted him to suggest they take this one outside.

"Shemei has enough to do without worrying about Merishu all day long, in case you haven't noticed."

"This girl can't be a day over fourteen, and you expect her to - "

"Keep one boy out of trouble for a few hours every day. It's not that hard, Set. If I can do it, so can she."

Yuugi debated the wisdom of pointing out the part where Merishu practically worshipped the ground his older brother walked on, and decided he should keep quiet if he wanted to live to see another sunrise. Set snorted, but remained otherwise silent. Yuugi relaxed marginally. He'd withhold judgment until they were safely out of the throne room and both gone their separate ways. If anyone could get away with getting into a fistfight with Atem - who would probably enjoy it thoroughly, actually - it would be Set.

"Now if you're quite finished, I have other obligations this afternoon." Atem stood up and brushed the bottom of his tunic down absentmindedly.

"Madu, Aibou - "

He didn't have to finish the thought. Any time Atem addressed someone by name while he was walking anywhere, it was generally understood they were intended to follow him. Yuugi hurried to catch up with the pair already ahead of him; sometimes it seriously annoyed him that though he and Atem were almost perfectly the same height, Yuugi's legs were a good deal shorter. By the time he caught up with Atem, Madu had already hurried ahead and out of sight.

* * *

Yuugi hoped Atem knew where he was going; by the time they'd made their third turn out of the throne room, Yuugi was hopelessly lost. Atem slid through a door. Yuugi followed him and stopped short.

_Oh, god. I think I just landed in the fanservice episode of some really bad anime._

Atem was moving before Yuugi could even begin to take in more than the barest details of the room. A loud splash brought Yuugi back to earth with a bump, and then Atem was back on the surface, shaking water out of his hair like a dog. Yuugi approached cautiously. In one of Anzu's favorite shows, this would be the part where something sweet and life-changing would happen. If the viewer happened to be Jounouchi, this would be the part they weren't allowed to show on television until late at night.

Atem kicked his way back to the edge of the bath - he was a strong swimmer, but not a particularly graceful one - and rested his head on his arms.

"Is this always where you go when he makes you mad?" It might be a dangerous question, but Yuugi was genuinely curious. Atem shrugged. His eyes were closed.

"Not always. Sometimes." Yuugi sat down next to the bath, and his eyes went wide as Atem's left shoulder came into view.

"You have a tattoo!"

"Shout it to the world, why don't you?" Atem sounded mildly irritated, and Yuugi desisted. He had a vague idea that Atem had gotten it specifically because he wasn't supposed to have done, and it was true - telling all and sundry that the pharaoh had gone out and paid someone to stick ink in his skin probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. Atem sighed and kicked his legs moodily. Yuugi bit his lip. Sooner or later he was going to have to ask.

"Um - what did you want me for?"

Atem shrugged again. "Company." At last he opened his eyes. "You're interesting." He closed his eyes again. "And you're one of the only slaves here who actually talks back to say more than yes or no."

Yuugi was taken aback. He'd expected something else entirely, and wasn't sure how to answer.

"Oh."

Atem smiled. With his eyes closed, it looked curiously wistful.

"If you really want something to do, you can go get some peas."

"I think I'd get lost."

"Then stay here."

"Okay." It was a stupid answer, but Yuugi couldn't think of anything else to say. He stared out over the water. It looked deliciously warm, and he felt a pang of jealousy. He hadn't had a hot bath since landing here.

"See something you like?"

Yuugi ignored the innuendo not-so-subtly buried in the question. When Atem was in a mood like this, it was the only way to deal with him.

"Hot water."

Atem nodded. "It could be a little cooler."

Yuugi shrugged. "I miss hot baths."

The look Atem offered him was puzzled. "You've been in a place like this before?"

Yuugi shook his head. "Where I'm from, everyone has hot water."

"Someday you should tell me more about this place you're from."

Yuugi shrugged. "Most of it you wouldn't believe." Atem might be able to comprehend indoor plumbing and maybe even cars, but video games? Telephones? The Internet? No way.

"Have it your way." Atem shoved off from the wall and kicked away. He was just past arm's reach when he called back.

"Little Aibou."

Yuugi's head snapped up just in time for him to be hit with a large splash of water. "Hey!"

Atem snickered. Yuugi made a face.

"I'm all wet now." He plucked at his water-spotted wrap. "This is going to get cold."

"So take it off."

Yuugi felt his face heat up. "Think I'll pass, thanks."

Atem shrugged and splashed him again. Yuugi wondered how much trouble he'd get in if he did actually pull the wrap off so he could jump in and give Atem the ducking he sorely deserved. He was on the point of throwing caution to the wind and doing it in spite of a very large part of his mind warning against it, and then Atem stopped abruptly, eyes wide.

"What - "

Yuugi never had the chance to finish his question before Atem leaned forward, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him in. He didn't have a chance to take a breath first, either, and groped madly for the surface.

_This thing is huge!_

He made the surface just in time to see the blur of Set's face before he whirled around and stalked out. Atem managed to look decently ashamed of himself for about five seconds. Then he started laughing, and loudly. Yuugi paused in his attempt to get out of the bath and watched.

_He actually looks pretty good when he's doing that._

Yuugi felt his eyes go wide.

_Did I really just think that?_

He tried to think as Atem wound down, color high in his cheeks and his eyes glittering happily, and decided that yes, maybe he had. He'd worry about it later, when he wasn't mostly naked and stuck in a pool of water with a hormonal teenager who was more than just mostly naked.

_Mostly!_

"Oh, Shemei's going to _kill_ you," Yuugi said, sputtering as water ran out of his hair and down his face. He swiped at it impatiently. "You're in big trouble. Really big trouble."

Atem laughed some more as Yuugi struggled through the water back to the edge of the bath.

"I think I'll manage."

"Really big trouble," Yuugi repeated. "Cotton shrinks in hot water and this thing is almost new."

Atem shrugged. "I told you to take it off. It's not my fault you didn't listen."

"It's your fault it got wet. Shemei's going to _murder_ you."

Atem raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly do you plan to do about it?"

Yuugi paused to consider. It was almost as good as an invitation, and if he was going to die tonight - he had absolutely no doubt that his head would be joining Atem's on the chopping block - he might as well . . .

If Atem had expected Yuugi to actually retaliate, it didn't show when Yuugi twisted around, lunged, and gave him a sound ducking. He gasped as he made his way back to the surface.

"You - !"

Yuugi shrugged. "You asked what I was going to do about it."

"You - " Atem returned the favor. Yuugi started laughing almost before his face cleared the water and pushed. Atem slid on the floor of the bath and flailed. One of his hands caught Yuugi's arm, and Yuugi yelled as they both went under. Atem bobbed back to the surface easily. Yuugi tried to kick and follow. Something heavy was holding his legs together, and instead of heading for the surface, he sank. He panicked. Then there was an arm around his waist, and his face was above the water. Atem brushed a few wayward curls off Yuugi's forehead.

"You should be more careful, little Aibou." He reached under the water and grabbed the heavy thing still clinging to Yuugi's legs. Yuugi blushed and took a step backward as his waterlogged wrap came into view.

_That definitely wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done, Einstein._

As though Atem could hear the thought - and, Yuugi realised, there was a chance that he could - he raised an eyebrow. "Remind me again who Shemei is murdering for this?"

"You." Yuugi took another step backward and stumbled. Atem grabbed his arm.

"Let's get you out of here before you get into even worse trouble." He guided Yuugi to the edge of the bath. Yuugi stayed there as Atem pulled himself out of the water, reached up, and twisted his hair to get the water out. Yuugi watched him dry off, then start collecting his clothes. Yuugi followed suit while Atem's back was turned. He used Atem's discarded towel instead of hunting for one for himself; he didn't want to turn around and then find himself on the floor, pinned underneath a playful pharaoh. Lacking proper clothes, Yuugi tied the towel-thing (which was like no towel he'd ever used in his life) carefully around his waist and then watched Atem sort himself out. He had to bite his lip hard to keep from laughing when he realised what Atem was still looking for.

_I'm pretty sure he's the only king anywhere who could lose his own crown._

The crown was nowhere in sight, and Yuugi's urge to laugh passed quickly when he realised exactly where it was: sitting on the bottom of the bath. It was a wonder neither of them had gotten cut on it.

Atem ran a hand over his forehead. Yuugi could see him rubbing his temples.

"Damn it."

Yuugi flushed, but pulled off the towel-thing and slid back into the water before Atem could pay proper attention to him. It was easy to dive now without his wrap sliding down and trying to kill him, and he was able to retrieve the wayward piece of gold in a matter of seconds. He flailed back to the surface, swiped water out of his eyes, and put the crown on the edge of the bath. Atem took it and slid it carefully into place.

"Thank you."

Yuugi nodded, uncomfortably aware that he was going to have to get out with Atem staring at him. A hand wrapped around his wrist and tugged. There was no good reason to refuse the help, and so Yuugi let Atem pull him out of the bath.

"Um - thanks."

Atem also nodded, paying almost no attention as Yuugi made his way back to the towel-thing.

"You're going to be in loads of trouble, you know."

"I think you mentioned that once."

"I wasn't thinking about Shemei, actually. I was thinking about how you kind of decided to run off in the middle of the day without telling anyone where you were going, and when Set found you he probably thought you were - " Yuugi cut the sentence off before he could finish it. For one, he was pretty sure Atem wouldn't understand the phrase _getting blown_, and for another, he was completely sure he didn't want to explain it. With his luck, Atem would ask for a demonstration.

Atem raised an eyebrow. "Doing things that make a complete mockery of all ideas of public decency?"

"Something like that." Yuugi hoped his hair wasn't going to dread up. It was one of the many, many reasons he'd rarely washed it at home.

Atem shrugged, and Yuugi realised just how stupid he must sound. Get in trouble, right! The pharaoh was going to be in a lot of trouble with his subordinate! Really, where were his brains today?

"Well, little Aibou, are you ready to go to your imminent death?"

Yuugi blinked himself back to earth. "Huh?"

Atem grinned. "Maybe if Shemei has to shout at us both at once she'll go easy on us."

"Don't count on it." Yuugi paused, then started laughing. Atem raised an eyebrow.

"Is something funny, slave Aibou?"

Yuugi noticed the switch from the familiar to the formal at once, and tried to stem his laughter.

"Not really. I'm sorry. It's just - " Yuugi reached out to rub away the line of kohl on Atem's cheek. Atem intercepted the motion and trapped Yuugi's fingers underneath his own. Yuugi gasped and pulled back. Atem let him. Yuugi wondered if the shock he saw in Atem's eyes was reflected in his own.

_That . . . wasn't normal. That - feeling._

Yuugi was tempted to call it a static shock, but realised even as the thought presented itself that it was actively ludicrous. There was nothing in here to build a static charge with. Atem rubbed at his cheek and turned away.

"Let's get out of here before Set decides to come back with reinforcements."

It was a lame joke, and Yuugi could tell Atem knew it. He wasn't trying to be funny; he was trying to put himself back on an even footing.

"Okay."

* * *

"Here. Take this down to that girl." Yuugi took the dish from Shemei and nodded. Idut was small to begin with, and half-starved on top of everything else. He paused halfway out of the room.

"Shemei?"

Shemei's answer was a noncommittal kind of grunt. Yuugi pressed onward anyway.

"When the pharaoh asked for Idut's name, and she told him – he looked – " Yuugi hesitated. How had he looked? Shocked? Angry? Sad?

Yes. All of them.

"He looked like it reminded him of something. Something he didn't want to remember."

"You have food to deliver, Aibou."

Yuugi turned back around to face her. "Yeah, but – "

Shemei's lips thinned. "Before it gets cold."

"But why – "

"You ask too many questions. Go."

Yuugi desisted at last and made his way to the room in which Idut was being cared for. He had to push the door open with his foot; if Idut was able to eat everything Shemei had prepared, Yuugi would be shocked.

Atem was sitting by Idut's mat. Somehow Yuugi wasn't surprised. He was starting to expect it. If it were unusual, frowned-upon, or completely unconventional, Atem could be counted on to try it at the first opportunity. Yuugi hoped he wasn't expected to bow or kneel. He was having a hard enough time holding the plate without having to perform a balancing act, too.

"Er – Shemei sent me with this."

Atem nodded at him and pushed himself backward so Yuugi could set the plate down within Idut's reach. Yuugi bowed and hurried away; what Atem was doing there was none of his business, and he had other chores to complete.

He was barely back in the kitchen quarter, cleaning lettuce, when Shemei's hand descended on his shoulder.

"It was his daughter's name, if you really must know."

Yuugi stopped. "Huh?"

Shemei sat down with a small bowl of peas to shell. "Idut."

"What about her?" Yuugi took one of the emptied pods. He couldn't help himself; he was hungry.

"I told you he had children – two girls. The older one's name was Idut." Shemei picked the empty pods out of the bowl. "I imagine it came as a shock."

Yuugi returned to his task thoughtfully. It explained a lot – the incomprehensible look in the throne room, and his presence in Idut's sickroom. Yuugi had the distinct impression Idut had been adopted; it was more than obvious that Atem already considered her a friend, and though he might be fickle, his loyalties were not. Once won, they were usually permanent.

_Hey, they might even get that heir they're so wild about, if he doesn't forget about her as soon as he goes to bed tonight._

Yuugi wondered why the thought should chill him.

* * *

He'd grown used to his place on the bed, sitting and watching Atem undress every night. Even when he knew what was coming – a chore more pleasant than washing dishes, that much was true, but a chore all the same – there was something comforting about having an actual ritual to follow every night. When he'd been just a kitchen slave, he'd been assigned something new every night, and never had any idea what he was doing.

Atem sat down on the bed, sighed, and swung his legs under the covers. Yuugi followed suit. He'd long ago discovered the least stressful way to deal with the whole thing was the same as that for the rest of their interactions: humour him.

An arm slid around his waist and pulled him close. Yuugi forced himself to go limp, then jumped when he felt breath on the back of his neck.

_I don't care who he is. If he thinks he's going to get away with biting me, he's out of his mind._

No bite was forthcoming, but Yuugi didn't let himself relax all the same. It would be just like Atem to wait until he was off-guard, and then attack him in force. The breathing behind him slowed, and when Atem spoke, his voice was heavy and tired.

"Idut's child is to be buried at sunrise." A pause. "You're to go with her. She won't have the strength to walk the whole way with no help."

"Okay."

The breath behind him slowed again. At some point he realised Atem had fallen asleep.

_Great. I've gone from royal concubine to royal teddy bear._

The point was underlined, he thought, when Atem sighed in his sleep and nuzzled against Yuugi's neck. He was either genuinely asleep or the world's most amazing actor, and so finally Yuugi let himself relax and sleep.

There was something mildly irritating about having his schedule interrupted, but he couldn't help feeling just a little warm inside that Atem would put him in a position of trust. 


	7. The Shift: I

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 07/??  
**Author**: Nina/**technicolornina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping**.   
**Word Count**: 4 440.  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations**, **sexual innuendo**, and **sexual language.**   
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Merishu gets to play a game with Atem. (Awww.) Yuugi gets chicken and too much wine. Atem gets some.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Yuugi is naked. Again. I hope you people are okay with that, because it's not going to change any time soon. Also, Yuugi is drunk. For an extended period of time. **And there is sex.** I hope you're okay with that, too, because quite frankly it's only going to get worse.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **killyoudead**, who did not groan too loudly when I first told her Yuugi's joke about chicken and meat.

"Can't catch me!"

Yuugi paused, a large pot balanced carefully against his hip, and watched as Merishu streaked across the wide yard behind the kitchen quarter. He was closely pursued by Atem and Mana, all three of them laughing. Merishu stopped and changed direction abruptly. Atem, a little slower on the uptake, stopped altogether, confused, and Mana ran into him from behind. The pair of them tumbled to the ground. Mana used Atem's shoulders as leverage and pushed herself quickly to her feet, leapfrogging right over his head.

Yuugi shook his head and went on his way as Atem made his feet and took off again. Shemei was right. Atem was nothing if not an overgrown child. Yuugi ignored the part where he would have gladly dropped his pot and joined them. Merishu ran behind him and tried to take shelter.

"Aibou, help me!"

Yuugi couldn't help smiling as Merishu wormed his way between Yuugi's feet and sat down. If he couldn't win, he would at least keep Atem from winning. Atem stopped and crossed his arms.

"Meri, that's cheating."

Merishu grabbed Yuugi's leg. "No it's not! He was just standing there." 

"It's cheating." Atem's eyes flicked to Yuugi. "I think Aibou would agree with me."

Yuugi shrugged with his one free shoulder. "Aibou can't agree with either one of you. Aibou doesn't know what the rules are."

"You can't take shelter under, on, or around a moveable object."

"He's not moving!" Merishu rubbed his head against Yuugi's knee. Yuugi was reminded forcefully of a very large housecat.

"Meri, he just shrugged. He's moveable."

"But the important part isn't moving!"

Yuugi saw mischief on Atem's face. "How about we put it to a test?"

"What test?"

Atem lunged. Yuugi managed to get two steps backward before falling. He heard Merishu's childish squeal, and then he was pinned to the sand beneath a warm body, the breath knocked out of him. He wheezed as Atem sat up.

"I told you he's moveable."

Yuugi pulled himself into a sitting position, finally managing to draw a full breath. He took one look at Atem, still sitting on the sand, and thought privately to himself that the images in Atem's tomb lied. He might be perfectly dignified when necessity demanded, but the real Atem was the one sitting in front of him, crown knocked askew, roses high in his cheeks, dust on his tunic, having the absolute time of his life. He was very little like the Atem Yuugi would see in the memory world, and even less like the Atem he would encounter in the Millennium Puzzle, but he was nonetheless the real Atem, the one who wouldn't eat dirt to save his own life but would gladly throw himself in the sand to wrestle with his little brother. Some days Yuugi still longed for the Atem from his own time - the one who, he thought, would never have forced him into the job he now had - but at other times, like right now, he was perfectly content with the one he had.

"You're breaking my help," Yuugi heard Shemei complain, and Atem reached out to flick a curl off Yuugi's forehead. Sometimes Yuugi wondered why nobody had tried shaving his head again - his hair was a good five inches long already.

"I didn't do any permanent damage," Atem protested, getting to his feet and pulling Yuugi after him. Shemei clucked at them.

"Aibou, you have chores to finish. Merishu, go wash. You're absolutely filthy." Shemei turned abruptly and headed for the pantry.

Merishu whined. "I don't wanna!"

Atem turned his eyebrow on Merishu. "Boys turning eight years old should listen to their mothers. Now go on." He nodded toward the kitchen building. Merishu went, grumbling under his breath as he did. Yuugi retrieved his tumbled pot, vaguely thankful there hadn't been anything in it. Behind them, Mana laughed into her hand.

"I don't know what you think is so funny. He's become a real handful."

Mana shrugged. "He wouldn't be if you wouldn't spoil him to death."

"This coming from the girl who brings him treats every time she sees him."

Yuugi blocked out the rest of the discussion; he had little interest in it, knowing it would shortly take the same turn as so many conversations he'd had with Anzu - into a place only the two of them understood. Instead he took his pot inside, ready to put it away. Shemei fell on him.

"You have chores to do," she began, and Yuugi promptly blocked her out. He'd heard this speech before, and without fail it was always Atem making him late enough that he had to hear it.

" - and you _know_ Atem is eating here tonight - "

"Wait, what?" Sometimes knowing the usual speech by heart had its downfalls. Shemei huffed.

"It's Merishu's birthday, and new year on top of that. Atem always eats here. It's Meri's treat. Which is why you have to - "

Yuugi nodded dutifully as Shemei rambled on, and sat down to cut canteloupe.

--------------------------

"Merishu, sit _still_," Idut pleaded. Usually Merishu listened to her wonderfully, but tonight he was sitting next to his brother to eat. It likely wouldn't happen again for a year. He was, as Jii-chan might have said, wound up like a pocketwatch.

"Meri." Atem's eyes met Idut's across the cloth spread on the floor, and in their shared glance Yuugi saw the half-amused exasperation only parents and longtime childminders could know. Yuugi personally cared nothing for Merishu's antics; sooner or later Merishu would get hungry, and then he would sit down easily enough. Yuugi took more interest in the fact that Idut met Atem's eyes at all. Atem was generally well-liked among the slaves, but Idut had something of a reputation for being quiet and reclusive. Maybe, Yuugi thought, Atem was working the same magic on her that he'd once worked on Yuugi himself. He had a way of doing that.

Merishu looked ready to whine, but a single glance from Atem put an end to that. He plunked down at his space between Atem and Shemei, turned to Atem, and waited expectantly. Atem took a bite of chicken, and the rest of the party began to eat. Yuugi was hard-pressed to not make a complete pig of himself - it had been ten months since he'd tasted chicken, and the piece of bird in front of him was hot and juicy. And then there was bread _with butter_, and fresh cantaloupe and plums, and sweet wine instead of beer. There was also lettuce dipped in a kind of flavoured oil, which Yuugi ignored. The rest was feast enough, as far as he was concerned. And a feast it was - Merishu had been born during the week of the Egyptian new year, quite possibly the biggest holiday of the year, and even slaves got to celebrate freely. Yuugi finished his chicken regretfully. Atem had ignored at least half of his, and Yuugi did his best to not stare at it openly. Once upon a time Yuugi would have laughed openly at the idea that he'd be willing to trade sexual favors for half a chicken breast, but not now.

_Hey, Pharaoh. Tell you what. I'll blow you every night for a week if I can have a piece of your meat._

Yuugi bit his lip to keep from laughing outright. Not only was the thought outrageous, the pun - completely unintentional, truth be told - was one that would have Jounouchi roaring. Maybe Atem, too, if the humour had been invented yet.

Atem raised an eyebrow. "Is something funny, Aibou?"

Yuugi struggled to keep a straight face. "No. I was just - reminded of someone I used to know."

Atem looked mildly puzzled. "Ah." He turned back to his lettuce. Yuugi watched him eat with a small amount of fascination. Silverware had yet to be invented in this world, and chopsticks were equally foreign. Everyone ate with their hands - including the pharaoh. For once everyone was on mostly equal ground. Not _entirely_ equal ground, because it was clear Atem had been raised to have actual table manners, but mostly equal, yes. Yuugi was slightly awed by the idea of someone who could eat with their hands and still look more or less refined.

At last the meal ended. Yuugi loaded his arms with dishes and left to clean them. He'd mostly finished by the time he heard footsteps behind him. He had a fairly good idea who it was; the moon was full, and there was already a horse standing outside the stable. A hand landed on his back, and he spun around, ready to fight if Atem's arrival had been precipitated by someone else with less benign motives. Atem backed away from him, clearly aware that he'd stepped over a line he shouldn't have. Yuugi lowered his hands.

"Sorry."

Atem didn't acknowledge his apology; he only gestured Yuugi closer. When he spoke, it was in a whisper that made Yuugi shiver in spite of the heat.

"I saw you watching me tonight."

Yuugi hoped he hadn't broken some rule he didn't know about. There would be hell to pay if he had.

"I was going to take this with me, but I had this idea you'd make it worth my while." He put a lettuce-wrapped something in Yuugi's hands. Yuugi smelled chicken.

_No way. No _way_. What did he do, read my mind or something?_

"I'll be back in about an hour." Yuugi understood the implied order: be waiting.

"Okay."

He watched Atem swing his leg over the horse and pull himself onto its back. His eyes widened when Atem rode toward him, instead of away.

"I told Madu I might bathe when I get in. I may be late."

"Okay."

Atem's eyes flicked over Yuugi's shoulder. "Meri!"

Yuugi backpedaled rapidly to get out of Merishu's way. Atem leaned over to swing him onto the horse. Yuugi gave him a boost.

"Your mother's going to kill me," Atem confided, and Merishu giggled. 

Yuugi bit his lip in confusion as Atem rode away, one arm securely around Merishu's middle. It wasn't Merishu's presence that confused him; Mana hadn't lied when she said Atem spoiled his little brother absolutely to death, and Yuugi thought a nighttime birthday ride fit the bill quite well. It was the other part - the part where Atem had stopped to tell him about the bath - that confused him. Yuugi had grown used to Atem's skin being still damp from the bath when he came to bed, except on nights when the moon was full or nearly so. Then he came to bed dusty, because -

_because he bathes first, and then goes out to ride, and then comes to bed. There was still water in his hair._

Yuugi smiled. It was too kind to be sardonic, but it was nearly so.

"Ante up," he whispered, and took the clean dishes inside to put away. There he bid Shemei good night, hoping he looked decently humble - especially given that she looked ready to breathe fire. He followed his usual path until she was well out of sight, and then turned back and went left instead.

The bath was just as it had been the day he'd had a water fight with Atem, the day Idut had come to them. And the water was still hot. Yuugi slipped into the water happily, his robe a forgotten puddle on the floor behind him. He felt slightly giddy, and had an idea the wine he'd drunk with dinner was probably too strong for him. Jounouchi had told him once that alcohol had a way of catching up with you later, when you were least expecting it.

_So don't let go of the wall. And if you start feeling sleepy or dizzy, get out. Right away._ Fair enough.

"The first rule of playing a game is that you should know what the rules are," Yuugi said, his voice echoing even though he tried to keep it down. He didn't think anyone would be in this part of the palace at this hour, but he didn't want to encourage the wrong kind of attention. "The second rule of playing games is . . . " He paused to think. There must be a second rule. Must be. His brain felt like someone had poured a soda pop into it - bubbly and floating.

_If this is what being drunk is like, it's no wonder they put an age limit on it._

"The second rule of playing games is that when someone offers you chicken and a hot bath, you screw the rules." There. He liked that rule. The chicken was already in his belly, and he was sitting in wonderfully warm water up to his neck. Whatever price Atem chose to put on his presents would be fair, as long as Yuugi didn't end up dying trying to pay.

He found a cake of the same soap the slaves used - only one kind of soap here in Egypt, apparently - and bathed happily. By the time he was done his skin was noticeably lighter. Yuugi had an idea he should probably start paying more attention when he bathed, even if he did have to do it in cold water. 

He didn't dare soak as long as he would have liked; he had no way to tell the time, and he was afraid of falling asleep and sliding under the water. At last he pulled himself out of the water, dried off with the towel-thing he suspected Atem had left there on purpose, and made his way upstairs. He intended to sit and wait, more than ready to give whatever Atem wanted to take - _chicken! And hot water!_ his mind repeated happily and in an endless loop - but he'd been very right about one thing: the wine was strong, and the alcohol in it was different from that in the beer he was used to drinking. Before long he grew tired waiting for Atem's return, and so he lay down on the covers.

And then he fell asleep, asprawl amid soft covers and summer warmth.

-----------------------------

Yuugi felt hands on his back, wonderfully warm and light. He floated back into consciousness with little trouble; he hadn't been sleeping long.

"I think the wine's gone to your head, little Aibou."

Yuugi squirmed. One of the hands was caressing the flat place just below and between his shoulderblades, and there was no better way to drive him absolutely crazy. He wondered if Atem knew that. Probably. _He doesn't miss a single trick,_ Jii-chan might have said, and was it not true? Were they not playing the oldest game in the world right now?

"I know it did." There was something that struck him funny about the idea - quiet, sensible Mutou Yuugi, drunk! - and he started to laugh the loose, bubbly giggles that are the sole property of people who have drunk wine into the late hours. Atem raised an eyebrow, and he laughed more. It wasn't really funny, he saw it every day, but -

"I should have left you sleeping. You've taken complete leave of your senses."

Yuugi's laughs wound back down to giggles, and he snuggled against Atem's side. Atem was amazingly warm and comfortable, and Yuugi was going to take full advantage of having a human pillow.

_And a hot bath and chicken, don't forget that._

Yes, and a hot bath and chicken, and Yuugi should probably do something to thank him at some point after the room stopped moving every time he tried to do more than sit up. He rested his head against Atem's shoulder and could smell dust and wind on his bare skin. It was the mercy of the gods that Yuugi didn't see the surprise on Atem's face - Atem would have spent hours trying to make him stop laughing. Finally Atem let his arm slide around Yuugi's waist, the two of them side by side in the middle of the blankets and pillows, and lowered Yuugi carefully to the bed.

"Perhaps we should keep you away from the wine for the rest of this week," he murmured, and his voice was a pot of melted chocolate. Yuugi curled up with his head in Atem's lap and made a sound that would have been an almost comical noise of protest if he hadn't already been halfway to sleeping again. 

"I had two bowls. I'll have one tomorrow." He had no idea when he might taste something other than beer again, and didn't want to miss the chance while he had it.

"Probably a wise decision." Yuugi could feel Atem's fingers in his hair, and why had he never tried to draw out this side of his - whatever Atem was - before? The fingers paused in their trek through the thick mess of curls Yuugi called hair. Yuugi whined and nuzzled against the hand attached to the fingers. The fingers moved again.

"You're a demanding little thing, aren't you?" The tone in Atem's voice was one of amusement rather than anger, and Yuugi agreed readily. Yes, he was a demanding little thing, absolutely, whatever you say. Then again, he'd spent seven months at this man's beck and call, and if he could get something back now -

_You did get something back. Chicken and a hot bath, remember?_

Yes, chicken and a hot bath, he did remember, but neither of those things could do such maddeningly nice things to the place where his hairline met his neck. Yuugi tried to think of a way to describe it and failed. And now was probably not a good time to get excited over anything. The room still rocked every time he tried to sit up, and though he thought he could make it from one place to another without falling over, he imagined his tracks would look very loopy indeed. 

_But I'm supposed to - I'm supposed to - _Yuugi couldn't remember what he was supposed to do. He'd known earlier. He'd thought of it while he was eating dinner, just a silly, offhand thought that didn't mean anything, but then Atem had -

Right. That.

Yuugi sat up, closed his eyes until he regained his equilibrium, and then slid neatly off the side of the bed. Atem leaned forward, resting his weight on his hands.

"What on _earth_ do you think you're doing, little Aibou?"

"Making it worth your while. Put your legs down." Some very small part of his brain - the part that was usually in charge when he was sober - told him that ordering the pharaoh around was a very good way to get himself killed. Another very small part - the part currently operating at full power - told him the pharaoh would get over it. Very quickly, in fact, that part added as Atem raised his eyebrows and complied.

"I think perhaps whatever you're thinking of should be postponed until you're sober."

"I know what I'm doing." These, as Jii-chan had said more than once, were famous last words - but really, how hard could it be?

"Yes, and I know you're - "

Yuugi would never find out what Atem knew; the last word disappeared in a kind of strangled gasp that left Yuugi fighting a fit of the giggles he probably would have had even if he were sober. The one thing that kept him more or less straightfaced was knowing he'd probably die if he did any biting. Atem's fingers clenched on Yuugi's shoulders. Yuugi reached up to bat impatiently at one of the offending hands. Even chicken (and a hot bath) wasn't worth explaining the mysterious marks on his shoulders tomorrow.

_Yes, you're getting head. That's no reason to leave bruises._ But if it were really this simple . . . maybe he should consider trying to get a hot bath more often. Although if he ever got back to Domino, he doubted he'd ever be able to eat a lollipop again. He'd start laughing every time it got anywhere near his mouth.

_Okay, you know what? This is harder than it sounds like it should be._ Not to mention it was taking forever. Yuugi didn't fancy still sitting here at sunrise, paying up. His feet were going numb. The response was gratifying, but he was starting to get cold. Yuugi had no idea how to do some of the postively sinful-sounding things Jounouchi had snickered about in the back of the classroom, but the basic design of the human male hadn't changed much in three thousand years, and there were a few other things he knew he was fairly good at. He slid a hand between Atem's legs and received another of those ridiculous-sounding noises in return.

The space of roughly thirty seconds was enough for Yuugi to realise just why Jii-chan called "I know what I'm doing" famous last words. He made a face as Atem fell backward on the bed and wondered if anyone would notice if he wiped his mouth on the blanket. Worse, there was nothing in the room he dared drink to take the taste out of his mouth. Maybe after Atem fell asleep he could slip out for five minutes and get some beer or a plum or something. Yuugi crawled up onto the bed. Atem had sprawled out across the middle of it, eyes closed. Yuugi nudged him nervously. He wasn't dead - Yuugi could see the rise and fall of his chest easily enough - but if he was sleeping, Yuugi was going to be _pissed_. He hadn't put in that much effort so Atem could just fall asleep without a single word.

"Was there any particular reason for that?" The words sounded dazed, and Yuugi grinned triumphantly. He hadn't quite left Atem speechless, but he'd come close. Not too shabby.

"You said - "

"I was _teasing_ you, little Aibou." Atem rolled over, pulling his legs back on the bed. "If I really wanted payment, I would have taken it first."

Yuugi's mouth fell open. He made no attempt to close it. Not only had he been had, Atem's recovery had been disappointingly swift. There went any personal satisfaction he might have taken from the matter.

"You - " Yuugi turned away and folded his arms. Had he been closer to sober, he would have realised he was being ridiculously petulant. Then again, if he'd been closer to sober he likely wouldn't have acted as he had to begin with.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't expect you to take me seriously."

"It's not." Even half-drunk Yuugi could hear the pout in his own voice. The bed shifted, and he felt an arm slip around his waist. Yuugi pulled away. He wasn't done being mad yet. By tomorrow he'd likely have forgotten he had anything to even be mad about, and he wasn't going to let Atem off easy. Some part of him wondered dimly when he was going to stop being disappointed every time Atem acted like an ass. Really, he should be used to the pattern by now. It was like Atem got worn out from all that nice.

"What are you so angry for?" Genuine confusion. _He really doesn't get it,_ Yuugi thought. Far from calming him, the thought only made him angrier. Really, anyone who could be a complete and total _jerk_ and not understand when someone got upset about it -

Yuugi became aware of a hand caressing his shoulder, and he pulled away again. He didn't want to be comforted.

"I hate you." Yuugi was aware that he didn't really mean it, but he didn't care. It was a blow to Atem's pride, and they both knew it. Yuugi found a kind of bitter satisfaction in taking away whatever enjoyment Atem might get out of this situation. Having a pet that would bite could do that.

Atem did not approach him again, and Yuugi was on the point of slipping off the bed and leaving - why stay? His obligations were more than fulfilled - when he heard Atem's voice from behind him, quiet and heartbreakingly familiar. It wasn't as deep as the tone Yuugi knew, but in spite of that it still sounded almost exactly like Atem when he had been the other Yuugi, a lost spirit trying to find his way home.

"How can I make it up to you?"

There was something not quite right about the question, and had Yuugi been closer to his normal state of mind he would doubtless have recognised it. As he was - tired, upset, and still trying to shake off the effects of the wine - he did not.

"Don't do it again. I hate being teased."

"All right." That voice again, quiet and not entirely sure of itself. Yuugi chanced a glance back over his shoulder. Atem was sitting with his knees to his chest, arms wrapped firmly around his legs. Yuugi couldn't help himself.

"You know, it's an insult to the gods to be so ashamed of their work."

Atem raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not ashamed. I'm cold."

Yuugi considered telling him he should get under the covers if he was so cold, and then decided not to. He didn't like fighting without a good reason, and being slightly irritated was not a good reason. So instead he stretched toward the head of the bed and pulled the blankets down. Atem offered him a smile - not the usual sunny, cocky grin that left Yuugi wanting to smack him, but one that managed to seem both shy and relieved at the same time - and slid beneath the covers. Yuugi followed him. An arm slid around his waist to pull him close, and this time he let it.

Yuugi was on the verge of falling asleep altogether when the tiny seed of confusion planted in his mind bloomed and burst.

_What can I do to make it up to you?_

Yuugi sat up, dismayed.

"Hey - "

Atem shifted his weight and sighed deeply. Yuugi slid back under the covers, discomfited.

_I'll have to apologise tomorrow. Don't forget._

He was vaguely aware as he slid into sleep that he was being cuddled. 

_You big faker._

Yuugi could have been irritated, but decided not to be. They were still playing the game, after all, and Atem always played by the rules.

Even when there were no real rules to play by.


	8. The Sickness: I

Okay, guys, normally I don't do this. In fact, I usually discourage it. But, as the walrus said to the carpenter, the time has come.

I put a lot into this story. At this time, it's almost seventy pages long (including material not yet posted), and I'm not done writing it yet. It's quite likely to be novel-length by the time I'm done. I research, I write, I edit. I do not get paid. And each chapter has an average of eight hours in it. Yes, you read that right - eight hours, and that's probably underestimating. That's a large chunk of my time, wouldn't you say?

So if it's not too much trouble, and you don't mind, and you have the time, could you please leave a review that reads like you actually read the story and paid attention to what you read? I'm glad people like this story – believe me, with the time I put into it, I'm thrilled. But it's very discouraging to get the same four reviews every chapter – reviews that could just as easily be applied to any story in YGO fandom, and in some cases, to any story in any fandom. Please, just let me know you're actually reading. A single sentence is enough, if that's all you feel motivated to write. But keep in mind that your reviews are all I get for writing this. If you like the story as much as you say, won't you please show it?

Arigatou.

Technicolor Nina

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 08/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping** (I just found out about a week ago that Yuugi/Yami no Yuugi and Yuugi/Atem have two different names. Whaddaya know?).  
**Word Count**: 4 849  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **dark themes**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: People get sick. Set is a bitch. Yuugi spazzes.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Sickness like WHOA. And Yuugi is naked in a nonsexual context. (WHAT? Yeah, I know, it surprised me, too.)  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **my grandpa**, who is made of win and awesome. Also because when I ran this chapter by him in summary (I told you he's made of win and awesome), he said that yes, he bought the section in the throne room. Because it was very hard to write, that made me happy.

* * *

The day that changed everything started out like any other. He slipped out of Atem's bed early and hurried to the slave quarter to dress, then ate a plum while he raked out the ovens and the sun slipped over the eastern edge of the world to tint the Nile pink and gold. By the time he'd set the ashes aside and put his tools away the sand and hardpan had started to change from mysterious and sparkling blue to plain, dull yellow. He stopped to wash his hands - and knees, too, no ash in the throne room - and then made his way up to the first level of the palace. He paid his respects to the priests, then took his place kneeling between two of the columns around the room. Eventually Atem made his way into the room, and Yuugi touched his forehead to the floor with the rest of the slaves. Atem sat. The slaves returned to their former positions, sitting with legs folded neatly beneath them.

Yuugi paid closer attention to Atem than he usually did; for nearly a week he'd heard Atem coughing in his sleep, and today he was unusually pale. Nor was he the only one to notice. Yuugi's place was near the throne, and he could hear every word of the murmured conversation between Atem and Set. Set thought Atem should take a day for himself. Nobody was expected, and if there was anyone to be put on trial, the priests could deal with it. Atem shook his head, but there was little fight in him. He looked exhausted.

Yuugi kept a close eye on Atem all morning. He didn't think he could be the only one to notice the fine sweat breaking out on Atem's face or the way he kept clearing his throat, trying to cough quietly, but Set said nothing, and the other priests took their cue from him. It was sometime close to midday that Atem began rubbing at his temples with his fingers.

"I think I'm going to get something to drink and rest for an hour," he said, and stood up to leave the throne. Yuugi let his forehead touch the floor again. After a few seconds he heard the fast patter of feet, and glanced up to see Set and Madu running from their places.

Atem was lying collapsed on the floor, not moving.

Madu, unhampered by thick clothes and heavy gold, reached him first, and with Set's help turned Atem onto his back. The fingers Set held in front of his mouth were trembling, and then his shoulders fell.

"He doesn't breathe."

Yuugi felt a kind of coldness drop over his body. It was not a chill; rather, it was the kind of nerve-steadying feeling he sometimes got when he dueled. He scrambled to his feet and ran. One of his sandals fell off and he landed heavily on his knees. He ignored the blood flowing freely from the right one as he pulled himself back to his feet with no pause at all and kept running. He could hear murmurs and shouts all around him, but ignored them.

"Move!"

Set's reaction was one of confused anger, and so Yuugi simply shoved him aside before dropping back to his knees. He ignored the pain that shot up his right thigh. He could worry about that later, he thought as he laid one ear against Atem's chest. Yuugi didn't want to waste time trying to find a pulse, and was relieved to hear the steady flutter of Atem's heart.

"What do you think you're doing?" Set, shaking him. Yuugi jerked his shoulders away.

"His heart's still beating." Yuugi didn't waste any time on further explanation; he simply tilted Atem's head back and tried to remember the instructions he'd gotten in the first-aid class they'd all been forced to take in eighth grade.

Some part of his mind registered dimly, a thousand miles away, how strange it was that he'd shared Atem's bed for almost eight months, and this was the first time their lips had ever touched. Set tried to pull him away. Yuugi batted at him with his one free hand.

_Don't make me kick you. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to._

He pulled back. There was no noticeable change, but Atem wasn't showing any sign of air deprevation, and Yuugi found that at least mildly encouraging. He went through the steps again - check for pulse, check for breathing, check for obstructions in the mouth, tilt the head, breathe.

"Come _on_ already," he whispered, and leaned forward again. Behind him he could hear Set readying for another attempt, and the sounds of restless people all around him, and prepared to do exactly what his mind had promised. Then Atem's mouth fell away from his, and Yuugi heard one of the best sounds he'd ever heard: coughing, long and loud. He slipped an arm around Atem's shoulders to pull him upright, carefully ignoring Set's eyes on the back of his head. Then another arm, long and brown, slid past his, and Yuugi pulled away to let Madu in. He turned and was immediately confronted by Set.

"What kind of devil are you?" His tone was angry, but Yuugi couldn't find it in himself to be angry back. What Set had probably seen was a foreign interloper who pushed him aside and then literally breathed life back into the king. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation? What was that? Set's eyes flicked to Atem, unconscious but breathing, and then back to Yuugi. His voice was angrier than ever.

"You've bewitched him."

Yuugi shook his head. He had absolutely no idea how to go about explaining what he'd just done when the explanation had to be given to a man who didn't even know what oxygen was. And then it came to him, simply and naturally, as all his best ideas did.

"You know who I am," Yuugi said. He wasn't sure how many of the people here might know where he slept at night, but if it was a secret, he wasn't about to spill it to the entire court. "If I wanted to bewitch him, why would I choose now?"

He expected be challenged further, and was surprised when Set merely brushed past him and got to his knees before giving Madu a nod and lifting Atem from the floor.

* * *

Shemei ignored Yuugi utterly when he entered the slave quarter. Yuugi was about to greet her when he heard a coughing, choking noise, and spun around to find out who on earth had brought Atem down here.

Merishu's eyes looked back at him from the other side of an open doorway, bright with fever. Yuugi made his way into the room, sat down at Merishu's side, and pulled him up to sit. Merishu coughed harder. Yuugi was no doctor, but it didn't take a medical degree to draw an immediate connection. Atem and Merishu were both very, very ill, and unless there was someone else Yuugi hadn't seen, they were the only two. It was almost certainly something they'd caught at the same time. Yuugi tried to think. When was the last time they'd done anything together that someone else hadn't been a part of?

_His birthday. Almost two weeks ago. We all ate and then Atem came up when I was washing dishes, and he called Merishu to take a ride._

Where had they gone? Atem had said they'd be gone an hour, and his horse was fast. Yuugi didn't expect they'd been anywhere near any graves; all of those were on the other side of the -

_Oh dear god did they go to the river? Did they drink out of it?_ A horribly compelling picture came to his mind, a picture of Merishu saying he was thirsty and Atem sliding down from the horse, making a cup out of his hands for Merishu to drink from. Maybe joking as he did that Shemei would kill them both if Merishu came back with mud on his legs. Being the doting older sibling, completely ignorant of what he might really be giving to his little brother. And Yuugi had learned in science class about the kinds of things water could carry. Typhoid, and cholera, and dysentery . . . had either of them, or both of them, been bitten by anything? Mosquitoes bred in water, and carried malaria. Yuugi knew Atem had to still be alive at some point in the future - he'd seen proof of that with his own eyes - but what about him? There had been no Yuugi in the memory world, and no mention of a slave named Aibou, either. And in the last two weeks, Yuugi had had the most - and closest - contact of anybody with Atem's personal space and body.

Merishu coughed again. Yuugi rubbed his back, took the bowl of beer that had been left by Merishu's side, and held it so Merishu could drink. Yuugi could see sweat on Merishu's forehead and feel the heat of fever on his skin even as the little body in Yuugi's arms shivered with cold. There was something familiar about his breathing that Yuugi couldn't quite place. He spotted a larger bowl full of water with a cloth hanging from the edge. Yuugi hated using unboiled water for anything, but he doubted he had a choice right now. He simply dipped the cloth in the water, wrung it out, and wiped Merishu's face. He heard the patter of feet, and then Idut was kneeling next to him, holding a bowl full of plum she'd cut into pieces, telling Merishu he should eat, _must_ eat. Merishu whined, a thin and keening note, and turned his face into Yuugi's shoulder. Idut's eyes met Yuugi's.

"He won't eat," she said, and Yuugi could see tears standing in her eyes. "Not for a whole day now. Not for me, not for his mother. He won't eat."

Yuugi ran a hand gently over the neatly-shaved head pressed against his collarbone. "Come on, Meri," he said. "You know you like plums."

Merishu whimpered again and buried his face closer to Yuugi's chest. Yuugi pulled Merishu's head away to wipe his face again. Merishu tried to pull away from the cloth, cool and damp. His hand, soft and little, crept into Yuugi's, and Yuugi squeezed it gently.

"You might feel better if you eat something."

Merishu shook his head.

"Just a couple of bites, Meri. Just a little." Yuugi reached into the bowl and took out a piece of plum. "Come on. Here." He held the piece of plum up in front of Merishu's mouth, and was relieved when Merishu ate it. Yuugi managed to coax him into eating about half a plum before he buried his face against Yuugi's chest again and refused to take any more. Yuugi turned his eyes on Idut.

"If he wants water, boil it first."

Idut's eyes were confused, but she nodded. News traveled fast in the palace, and Yuugi had little doubt the slaves were now hailing him as some kind of wizard. His word would be good as gold with them for a long time. He might already be too late to keep Merishu from being ill, but maybe he could keep him from getting sicker, and that would be a good start to getting him healed. Yuugi moved slowly, let Merishu slip out of his arms and into Idut's lap, and stood to go take his own advice. Leaving the cuts on his knee uncleaned was probably a bad idea.

Shemei accosted him just outside Merishu's sickroom. When Yuugi had met her, he'd thought of her that she was the kind of woman who'd seen everything there was to see. If the Yuugi he'd been then had seen the Shemei in front of him now, he wouldn't have recognised her. She was fluttering around like a trapped animal, paying little attention to anything, and when she turned her eyes to his, Yuugi could read panic in them.

"They say Atem has it, too."

Yuugi saw no point in lying to her. Sooner or later she'd find out anyway, and so he nodded. Shemei groaned, the sound despair personified. Yuugi could understand her dismay. Atem had once beaten some disease horrible enough to kill the entire rest of his family. What were the odds in favor of the gods letting him off easy twice? And Merishu? Just a little boy, not old enough to do much but help Yuugi with the dishes. What chance did he stand against some kind of virulent, malevolent demon? Yuugi put his arms around Shemei's shoulders, and wasn't particularly surprised when she hugged him back. No illness in Shemei's body; her arms, thin and sinewy as ever, were strong around Yuugi's waist.

"Why don't you sit with him? I can take care of stuff." It was a daring offer, and Yuugi knew it; he had only the haziest ideas of the full extent of Shemei's duties. But if someone came to him with a problem, he suspected he could solve it. The slaves who did skilled labour, like cooking, were almost always the same and could work perfectly well without someone hovering over them.

Had it been for any other reason, Yuugi had no doubt Shemei would have turned him down. As it was, she glanced uncertainly for several seconds between Yuugi and the door of the room he'd just left, clearly at a loss.

"If you need me, you get me," she finally said, and Yuugi nodded. He felt like his entire world had been turned on its head - Yuugi had never done well with illness.

It was probably a mercy that he had no idea what kind of a night he was in for.

* * *

"You. Slave."

Yuugi, busily pulling things out of the pantry, ignored the voice until a hand fell on his shoulder. Then, as the bowl in his hands fell to the floor, he wished Set would just suck it up and learn their names already. How anyone was supposed to know when Set was addressing them was a matter beyond Yuugi to discern.

"You. Come with me."

Yuugi tried to protest. Shemei had taken him at his word, and was still sitting in Merishu's sickroom. That left Yuugi in charge of everything, and though the pharaoh and his brother were both ill, other people had to eat. Set would have none of it; he simply grabbed Yuugi's wrist and pulled him along, paying no attention whatsoever to the bowl shattered on the floor of the pantry.

"Look, will you tell me what's going on?" Yuugi didn't bother giving him any kind of title; he'd never had to address a priest directly before, and if there was some proper way to do it, he was sure Set would tell him. Set stopped at the bottom of the short staircase leading to Atem's room.

"He's been asking for you all afternoon, when he's in his right mind."

Yuugi didn't like the sound of that. He liked it even less as Set escorted him up the staircase, stopping him just inside the door. Atem's breath was laboured, rasping in his chest like a rusty saw. Yuugi slipped past Set and made for Atem's side.

He sat down on the side of the bed. He could hear Atem's words now, and they were nowhere near coherent. His tone was agitated, his eyes not fixing on any given thing anywhere in his line of sight as he tossed his head restlessly.

_You know, you don't owe him anything. He goes out of his way to make your life hell,_ some sly and insidious part of Yuugi's mind pointed out. The surprise appearances, the incessant teasing that Atem's promise two weeks ago had done nothing to stop, the way he had of getting Yuugi's hopes up that maybe things would change and then crushing them with another act of assholery - yes, it was true, Atem made his life difficult at best.

_And he's sick, and if he's aware of anything at all he's probably afraid,_ Yuugi argued. The sly voice that wanted him to say there was nothing he could do and walk out retreated angrily to the back of his head, beaten.

Yuugi tried to pull Atem into his lap. He suspected he wouldn't get far - Atem was too close to his own size - but he did manage at least a little. Atem reached up - so slowly and shaking - and put a hand on Yuugi's arm.

"'Kana, the baby - "

Yuugi brushed Atem's hair off his face. No bowl of water had been left here, and so Yuugi simply pulled the edge of his wrap up to wipe away the cold sweat gathering at Atem's temples. _'Kana,_ Atem had called him. The name brushed uneasily at his mind. Where had he heard it before?

_Sometime near the end of that year, Akana was possessed of a multiplying demon._

Yuugi suppressed a shiver as he realised Atem thought he was talking to his dead wife. _And maybe he is,_ Yuugi thought. Certainly he sounded closer to dead than alive.

"- father - "

And that quickly, that simply, pieces slid and clicked in Yuugi's mind.

It was a long shot - a very long shot indeed - but maybe. If. Anzu called it the only word a thousand letters long, and Yuugi thought he knew now what she meant. He stroked Atem's hair, rocked him until his agitation subsided. Then Yuugi slid carefully off the bed, and for the second time that day put his head against Atem's chest.

"What - "

Yuugi held up a hand. He found himself somehow not at all surprised that Set was still standing in the doorway. Set fell silent, and Yuugi listened. Carefully, so carefully. He suddenly knew where he'd heard that kind of breathing before, and wanted to slap himself for not recognising it in Merishu. If he was right there was still plenty to worry about, Yuugi had landed in the hospital with it, but -

"I know what this is." Yuugi sat up and brushed the tumble of curls out of his eyes, the better to address Set without looking eight years old. Set's eyes widened.

"You know this demon?"

Yuugi didn't pause. "I think so. I think it's the one my people call _pneumonia_." He used the Japanese for the last word; he'd never heard a hieratic equivalent, or even demotic. He hesitated. What he said next could get him branded as a witch, or renowned beyond his wildest dreams. Neither of those options appealed to him. He had a job to do - keep Atem alive - and that was all.

"I might know how to get rid of it, if I can get what I need here." Set's eyes met his.

"You have only to name it."

Yuugi brushed his hair out of his eyes again. Here was another word he'd never heard of an Egyptian equivalent for, and a substance he'd never seen in all his time here.

"I'm not sure it grows here," he admitted. "But we can try." He took a deep breath. If Set didn't already think him mad, he surely would now.

"Get a couple of loaves of bread. Three or four would be better. Cut them up, break them up, whatever. Sprinkle them with water - just a sprinkle, don't soak them - and stick them someplace kind of dark and not very dry. Don't throw it out, no matter what. If we can get him to hang on for three or four days, we might be able to do something. In the meantime, keep him sitting up - even when he's sleeping. Give him plenty to drink. No water unless it's boiled first. And try to keep his fever down." He paused. "And pass that along to whoever's taking care of Merishu. I think he has the same thing."

If Set found Yuugi's instructions strange, he didn't show it. He only offered a curt nod. "Consider it done."

He swept away. Yuugi slid back onto the bed and pulled Atem back into his lap, trying to keep him upright. He'd only been five when he'd had his own fight with pneumonia, but he remembered very well the feeling of not being able to breathe, trying to call for his mother or a nurse and not having the air to do it with.

At some point that night Madu came in and took Yuugi's place, holding Atem up, fighting to keep him breathing without too much trouble. Yuugi dragged himself down to the slave quarter. He had no idea what time it was, but the almost complete quiet of the quarter - broken only by Merishu's slightly less troubled breathing - told him it was probably well after midnight. It had been months since he'd been up so late, and he felt it.

He knew as soon as he stepped into the room that he had a problem. All six mats were filled - including his own. Shemei had apparently taken Yuugi's perpetual nightly absence as a sign that she could put someone else in his place. Yuugi slipped out and made for Merishu's room. If Shemei was still there, she could tell him what to do.

"What are you doing?"

The voice was a whisper, nothing more, but Yuugi knew instantly it was Set. Yuugi wondered what on earth he was doing up at this hour, but didn't ask.

"I was looking for Shemei. I - I kind of don't know where I'm supposed to sleep tonight."

Yuugi could feel Set appraising him, sizing him up, and repressed a strong desire to tell him off. Their dislike for each other was entirely mutual, but they were still in the unique position of needing each other - at least for now. Set turned away from him.

"This way."

Yuugi followed, but was full of confusion all the same. This was the path to Atem's room. He knew it well enough. Then Set made a turn into a corridor Yuugi had never even noticed before, and two doors down he pointed to a room.

"You can stay there. When the pharaoh is sufficiently recovered he can make more suitable arrangements if he chooses."

Yuugi nodded. "Um - thanks."

Set didn't acknowledge him - simply turned and left. Yuugi retreated back to the pathway that led to Atem's room and took a torch, then returned to the room Set had pointed out to him.

Yuugi's first impression was that he'd been put in someone's private room; then he felt the chill from the walls, and knew better. This room hadn't been used in years. The bed consisted of a small feather tick on the floor. Yuugi hoped this hadn't been Akana's room. Just the idea made his stomach turn over. Then he stopped to reconsider. Atem's room was full of personal items, and a bed that made Yuugi's comfy twin mattress in Domino look like an army cot. This room, though comfortable enough for someone with simple tastes, was entirely devoid of personality - and Yuugi was pretty sure Atem would have shared a bed with his queen in any case. He was nowhere near stupid enough to believe an ibis had brought little Idut and her younger sister to the palace.

_Then what is this place?_

Yuugi decided not to worry about it further. He was exhausted, and suspected he'd have to be up at dawn just like everyone else. He stripped and slid between the tick and the blankets, and was asleep almost before his head touched the pillow.

* * *

Someone was shaking his shoulder, telling him to wake up. Yuugi buried his face in the pillow. Surely they could let him sleep an hour before getting back up, couldn't they? Did they really need him when he'd just fallen asleep?

"Aibou, you're needed upstairs."

Yuugi rolled over, trying to focus. Madu was kneeling by the side of the feather-tick mattress on which Yuugi had slept.

"You might want to eat before you sit with him. He was restless last night. You'll need your strength."

Yuugi sat up and blinked hard. Right. Atem was sick, had pneumonia, someone had to sit with him to make sure he didn't drown in the fluid his lungs were producing, Yuugi was a natural choice to play nurse because Atem liked him. Also because he knew, at least to an extent, what he was doing.

"What time is it?"

"Midmorning. The evening slaves are getting up now." Evening slaves. Those who didn't do tasks in the morning, usually too old to take a full day of labour. There weren't many of them.

Yuugi swung his legs over the side of the mattress, and Madu left. Yuugi had seen the circles under Madu's eyes, and hoped he'd be allowed to sleep. Until this nightmare was over, they were going to have to have people sitting with Atem at all hours, and those people would have to be able to stay awake.

Yuugi found a small bowl of plums waiting for him in the kitchen quarter. A piece of bread sat next to it. Yuugi ate one of his plums while he checked in on Merishu. Merishu was sleeping, propped up in the lap of a female slave named Hebony. They exchanged nods.

"How is he?"

"Sleeping." Hebony's voice was deep, and under other circumstances, Yuugi could have listened to it for hours. He liked the sound of it. "His breath is a little easier."

Yuugi nodded and put a hand on Merishu's forehead. It was cool for now, at the very least. Satisfied - as much as he could be - Yuugi left, finishing his bread on his way to Atem's room. The last two plums he saved. He had no idea how long he'd be sitting, and if nobody had tried to give Atem anything to eat - or had provided only bread - Yuugi wanted to have something handy that would be nutritious and easy for Atem to swallow.

Idut's eyes looked up at Yuugi as he slipped into Atem's room, and he stopped, surprised. When he hadn't found her with Merishu, he'd simply assumed she was sleeping.

"He's been quiet this past hour," she said, her voice very low, "but Madu said he was restless all night long."

Yuugi nodded as Idut transferred Atem into his arms. "Don't let yourself get sick."

Idut shook her head. "I only sat here so Madu could wake you and give you time to eat. I'll rest this afternoon."

The next six hours were torture beyond belief. Yuugi could sit still when necessity demanded, but as a rule he hated it, and he didn't even have anyone to talk to. He thought he understood now why his mother and grandmother had so often read books by his bedside when he was in the hospital. He wished he had a book. Even a textbook would be grand. Instead, he had nothing to do but listen to Atem's delirious murmurs and wish he was deaf. It wasn't that the sound was bad; Atem had a good voice, and had Yuugi not had to continually wipe his face to rid it of cold sweat, Atem might almost have been talking in his sleep.

It wasn't that he spoke. It was that he spoke to the dead.

Sometimes he called for Shemei or his father. Sometimes his voice grew soft, and Yuugi could pick out Idut's name - little Idut, his daughter, the tone implied - from the rest of his murmuring. Occasionally he would hold semi-coherent conversations with Akana, and in the brief pauses Yuugi couldn't help but wonder if Atem heard someone answering back. Yuugi had never realised how many ghosts were in Atem's past. Mother, father, wife, children, at least half a dozen that Yuugi figured were probably the names of close childhood slaves. There were a few he recognised - Mana, Set, Merishu - but most of them were names he'd never heard. Atem whispered his name - _Aibou_ - and Yuugi answered, but nothing more was forthcoming. There was silence for maybe five minutes. Then Atem began all over again, asking Akana if Amisi was sleeping, telling Shemei the baby was crying. Once Yuugi thought he might be trying to sing a lullabye. Then he fell silent.

Yuugi thought he'd never seen anything so wonderful as Madu standing by the bed, waiting to take over for awhile. There was something exhausting about sitting listening to those names over and over, and his arms ached. Atem was small, but still heavy enough when he was deadweight. Yuugi traded places with Madu and slipped out of the room, rubbing feeling back into his arms and legs as he went.

Three or four days, he'd said. He only hoped he could count on that for sure.


	9. The Shift: II

So, my day thus far has been shit. For those not on my MySpace: my cat was killed down in Phoenix. Nina is not happy. At all. However, then I got down here to the library, and I had something that made me smile. Reviews. Lots of them. That are probably going to be a big help now that I'm catching up with what's written (I HATE HATE HATE writer's block and think there should be a special place in hell for it). Thank you guys so much for making my day at least a little better.

In other news - I apologise to the mods or whoever-you-are's of because this was an anonymous review - YES, this story does take its name from the Aida song, and YES, those lyrics will find their way into this story. YOU ARE AMAZING AND I KIND OF WANT TO BEAR YOUR CHILDREN. (Okay, that's pushing it, but you know what I mean.) Aida is my favorite musical, and I have a couple of stories (including one not in this fandom) named for it.

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 09/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 4 924  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **dark themes** and **character death**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Someone dies. Yuugi is very not happy. There are hobbits.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Sickness like WHOA.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **Fille Canadienne.** Thank you, dear, for your wonderful review, and also for restoring my faith in humanity. (You even picked out the part of the lyrics I have posted on my computer monitor as a guide for a later chapter, and are therefore made of epic win and awesome.)

* * *

"Slave Aibou."

Yuugi started, turned, and nearly lost another dish to the pantry floor. He'd never heard Set use his name - or that of any slave but Shemei, for that matter - before, and just the sound of it was enough to startle him.

"I - yeah?"

"Come with me."

Yuugi followed. Failure to comply would only get him dragged along whether he liked it or not, even though he was supposed to be upstairs in fifteen minutes and had yet to eat. Set led him along yet another passage he'd never seen, and Yuugi had time to wonder just how big this place really was. Then they were in a room both dark and damp, and Set was showing him a large bowl full of something bluish-green and powdery that Yuugi couldn't immediately identify. Set's face was puzzled.

"Is this what you wanted us to grow?"

The pieces suddenly clicked in Yuugi's mind. It had worked, and much faster than he'd expected. He'd forgotten the part where there were no artificial preservatives to be broken down first.

"Yes. Do you have - "

Another slave produced a second bowl and a knife. Yuugi took the large bowl from Set and the tools from the slave - probably one of Set's personal slaves, because Yuugi had never seen him before - sat down, and began to scrape some of his prize off the bread. There was already a nice colony started here. He wanted to use all he could and still leave enough that it wouldn't have to start growing all over.

"You might as well start another couple of loaves. He and Merishu have both got it, and it's probably going to take a lot of this to do anything about it."

"What _is_ it?" Set eyed the substance in the bowl, once a perfectly edible loaf of bread, with distrust.

Yuugi didn't bother looking up. "That depends on context. If it's on bread you want to eat, you call it _mold_." He set the large bowl on the floor and stood up, carefully guarding the smaller bowl of scraped spores. "If you have a demon you want to get rid of, you call it _penicillin_. It's a kind of medicine. We can go for now, if you want. Don't throw out what's left. We'll need it, and it can probably grow some more. Can we go back to the kitchens?"

Set led him back to the kitchen quarter and watched with a critical eye as Yuugi first boiled water, then set it aside to cool. He paused to think. There was nothing available for him to make juice from - both grapes and pomegranates were out of season - and he couldn't remember if alcohol would kill mold, so wine and beer were both out. He supposed he was lucky to remember what kind of mold penicillin came from, and thought that if he ever saw Anzu again, he was going to give her the biggest hug of her life for making him do that stupid science fair project that had turned out to be not so stupid, after all. But he needed something else. Yuugi had tasted bread-mold before. Atem was already having trouble keeping things down, and if the smell didn't make him lose whatever they'd got into him, the taste surely would. Finally Yuugi settled for cutting some bite-sized pieces of plum and cantaloupe. He'd just have to be fast, that was all.

Yuugi made his first stop in Merishu's room, where he mixed some of the spores with a bowl of water. He felt like an ass making Merishu drink it, but a few bites of plum soothed the indignity, and Yuugi consoled himself with the thought that Merishu would soon be up and running around again, good as new. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully. If.

Set followed him next up to Atem's room, where Yuugi repeated the procedure. Atem was at least somewhat lucid, and offered no resistance as Yuugi followed the cloudy mixture with a few pieces of melon. Yuugi let out a sigh.

"Okay. Three times a day - four, if we have enough. Always boil the water and let it cool first, and give him something to eat after. No wine, no beer. And we'll need enough of the spores to fit across a knife-blade for the length of a finger. Every time. No exceptions." It was the only unit of measure Yuugi had had available when he mixed his makeshift prescription. He only hoped it would be enough.

"You don't really know what you're doing, do you?" Set asked. He'd allowed himself inside the room as far as Atem's dressing table. Yuugi shrugged.

"I've never had to do this part before, but I know if he gets enough of it, that's going to be one sorry demon."

_And if he doesn't get enough, or if it turns out he's allergic to it, I'm probably going to be one sorry Yuugi._

Yuugi shoved the thought away. He could do what he could do, and no more. Set left. Madu and Yuugi traded places, and Yuugi settled in for the night. Sometime around two in the morning someone would come to take his place.

And then he would eat.

* * *

"Good news!"

Yuugi looked up from where he sat. He was trying to coax Merishu to drink. Merishu's lips were cracked and dry, and Yuugi was afraid he was getting dehydrated.

Hebony got to her knees. Her dark face was split in half by a large smile.

"Wonderful news."

Yuugi stared at her blankly. He hated running between one sickroom and another; he was never entirely sure what was going on anymore.

"The pharaoh. They say his fever's broken. They say he's awake. You saved him, Aibou."

Yuugi smiled, but it was strained. Atem was one matter. Merishu was another entirely. Even when Yuugi had started doubling the amount of "medicine" Merishu was taking, he'd shown no real improvement.

"That's great."

"He's been asking for you."

Yuugi looked down at Merishu, who had fallen asleep in his lap. His fever was down, though still unbroken, and that was one small blessing.

"I can stay here. You go to him."

Yuugi nodded in surrender and transferred the little body into Hebony's lap. If Merishu wanted to sleep, fine. It might do some good for him. Yuugi bent his knees - sitting for hours at a time had a way of making them stiff - and headed for Atem's room.

His first impression - that Atem was sleeping in Idut's lap as Merishu had slept in Yuugi's - proved incorrect. As soon as Idut greeted him, Atem's eyes fluttered open.

"You're here."

Yuugi nodded. "Hebony came for me."

Atem beckoned him closer, and Yuugi went. Atem reached for his hand. Atem's grip was light, fluttering, unsure. Yuugi was reminded of Grandma Mutou in the last year or so before she died. Once in awhile she would call Yuugi in to read with him - she wanted, she said, for Yuugi to have a better way to remember her than just stuck full of tubes - and when she'd taken his hands, her grip had been like that. Yuugi wanted to pull away. He didn't.

Atem's voice was quiet and somehow liquid. "Meri."

"He's downstairs. Hebony's with him right now."

"Idut said - "Atem was stopped by a coughing fit almost theatrical in its proportions. "Him, too."

The question was fragmented, but Yuugi understood it well enough. "His fever's down today. He might be okay."

If Atem had had more strength, Yuugi thought he would have nodded. Instead he tried to squeeze Yuugi's hand. He mostly succeeded. "Take care of him."

"I am." _Believe me, I'm doing everything I can. He should be outside chasing butterflies or something, not stuck in a room coughing his guts out. He's only eight fucking years old._ The thought was unusually savage, but Yuugi didn't bother being shocked at it. He was exhausted, frustrated beyond belief, and he thought he could be forgiven for thinking in terms of the forbidden F-word.

Atem nodded. His head fell to the side, his strength exhausted, and Yuugi brushed the fringe off his face absentmindedly. Atem shifted in Idut's arms, and his breathing deepened. Idut took Yuugi's hand and squeezed it. Yuugi squeezed back.

"You should rest," she said. "You'll be next."

Yuugi looked up at her, and something in his smile frightened her. Had Yuugi been shown that cheshire grin, he would have recognised it as the product of too much stress and not enough sleep.

"I'll be all right."

"How do you know that?"

Yuugi glanced down at Atem's face. Even in sleep it was strained. The vertical line between the eyebrows - the one Yuugi's mother called the I-want line - stood out sharply. If Atem had lived to be an old man, Yuugi thought, that line would have become permanently engraved in his skin. He ran his fingers through the golden fringe one more time, and Atem's face relaxed. The I-want line disappeared.

"Because," he said. "I have to be."

* * *

Yuugi ran his fingers through Atem's hair. Then he yawned, trying to hide it. He was well aware that he was pushing his luck, sleeping only in two- and three-hour bursts and no more than five hours a day, but there were more pressing issues to be dealt with right now. Atem sighed, the sound short and still unhealthy.

"You're exhausting yourself, little Aibou."

Yuugi resisted the urge to shrug. If he did, Atem would likely slide right off the bed and onto the floor. Not a good place for a sick man to be.

"I'll be all right."

Atem shook his head. The motion was heavy against Yuugi's chest. "You should stay here tonight."

"You said I'm exhausting myself. I have to sleep sometime."

"Sleep here."

"Who's going to watch you if I do?"

Atem rested a hand on top of Yuugi's, wrapped around Atem's waist, holding him upright. "I trust you."

"Then you're insane."

"They say so," Atem agreed, and closed his eyes.

Yuugi sighed. Atem had been an exemplary patient, taking whatever Yuugi threw at him - no privacy, complete lack of activity, four daily doses of bread-mold - with no protest. The result was a slow but steady improvement, but Yuugi had an idea that if he didn't surrender at least once, that would change. He had enough problems with Merishu, whose eyes had been glazed with fever when Yuugi left him with Idut. He didn't need to send Atem into a relapse.

"You do realise I'll still probably have to leave before you wake up."

"That's fine."

Yuugi's thumbs rubbed circles in Atem's palms. The fever and delirium had departed, but had left behind them a bone-deep chill in Atem's hands and feet. Yuugi only hoped the strange lapse in circulation was temporary.

"And if I have to get up in the middle of the night to get you breathing, I won't stay here again.. You really need someone with you who's awake."

"All right."

"You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I kind of miss you arguing with people." Yuugi's hands slipped up to Atem's fingers, bending them one by one. "You shouldn't be agreeing with everything people say. It's weird."

"I don't have the energy to argue, little Aibou." Atem coughed. Yuugi reached for the bowl of water - boiled, he'd made sure of it - by Atem's bedside and held it while Atem drank.

"I'm bored."

Yuugi bit his lip to stifle a laugh. Atem was still too sick to even walk on his own, but some things would never change.

"I could tell you a story if you wanted." Yuugi thought Atem might be well enough to play his version of checkers if someone put the board in his lap, but Yuugi wasn't about to say so. Tomorrow, maybe. Not tonight, when his goal was to get Atem to sleep.

"What kind of story would you tell?"

Yuugi paused. The fairy tales he and Anzu had grown up on were clearly not appropriate. Not only were they for much younger people, Yuugi could just imagine Atem's commentary on Goldilocks or Little Red Riding-Hood. The myths Jii-chan had told him later as bedtime stories were likewise out of the question. Homer's tales of Odysseus would likely make little impression on a man who lived in the desert, and if Atem happened to know anything about Greek mythology, Yuugi would likely end up dead for fraternising with the enemy, or something. He and Anzu had devoured each Harry Potter book as soon as it came out, Anzu going so far as to order English-language versions online instead of waiting the six months to a year for a translation, but there was no end to the story yet, and Yuugi didn't think Atem would take well to that. Not to mention the difficulty of explaining the Hogwarts Express or the Weasleys' flying car.

And then Yuugi had it.

"It's about _hobbits_."

Atem's brow wrinkled. "About what?"

"Hobbits. They're these little people that look like men, but only about half the height. And they don't usually wear sandals, because their feet are really tough and covered in hair."

"Is this a story from your country, little Aibou?"

Yuugi started laughing. "No way. It's from _England._"

Yuugi almost wished for a camera to capture the confusion on Atem's face. "England is another country, but not your own?"

"Yes. Very far from here." _Also, it won't exist for another fifteen hundred years or so._

"If you come from a place that isn't England, little Aibou, then how do you know the story?"

Yuugi was stuck. Atem didn't know what a book was, and the idea of mass media would be completely beyond him.

"People from my country trade with people from England. Probably someone from my country heard the stories about the hobbits and told them to other people because they liked them. I know I do," Yuugi said, offering what was probably a highly-romanticised version of the truth.

"Tell me about these hobbits, then."

Yuugi paused to consider. He much preferred Frodo and Samwise to Bilbo and the dwarfs, but telling the story about the Ring and the journey to Mordor would involve more backstory than Yuugi wanted to try to weave in on his own. Also, there were words he would have to use either the English or Japanese for, and he thought he would rather start with Gollum and the Arkenstone than with Cirith Ungol and Éowyn.

"There are a few stories about hobbits," Yuugi began at last. "The first one is just called 'The Hobbit,' but Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who had the adventure and knows more about it than anyone else, called it 'There and Back Again.' Bilbo lived in Middle-Earth, in a part of the country called the Shire, where only hobbits lived. Hobbits are really shy and very fast, which is why you almost never see them. They don't like adventures, and they're very suspicious of heroes, because you have to have adventures to be a hero."

Yuugi's version of Bilbo's adventure was somewhat abridged, mostly because he had to either cut out or make up parts he didn't remember. He was pretty sure the Rivendell part was scarred beyond all recognition, and he thought he might have given Bullroarer Took the wrong relation to Bilbo, but Atem didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, he was following Yuugi closely, asking questions that would have made Yuugi's literature teacher proud. Yuugi wondered if he'd made a mistake offering up a new story, and if he'd be sleeping at all tonight.

"So Bilbo ran away, but in his panic, he turned down the wrong tunnel, and before too long he found himself in the very heart of the mountain," Yuugi narrated. "Bilbo came to the edge of a large pool, and then he had to stop, because everyone knows hobbits can't swim."

"And was he caught?"

"Not exactly. The orcs didn't like to go to the heart of the mountain, because a lot of the time orcs who went there never came back. Bilbo was wondering if maybe he should turn back and try his luck against the orcs when he heard a boat on the water. There was no light because his sword had stopped glowing, but he could see two big, orange lamps floating above the water, and a really skinny, ugly, pale body beneath, and that was _Gollum_."

Yuugi found himself improvising wildly when he got to the riddling contest. Atem understood answers like eggs and fish, but there were others he would never have guessed in a thousand years. Yuugi found himself making up riddles that he could only hope made sense, replacing Bilbo's riddle about daisies with one about grapes because of the marked lack of daisies in Egypt. He continued the story up until Bilbo escaped Gollum and the orcs and made it back to the dwarfs, and there he stopped. Atem shifted impatiently.

"And your party of dwarfs, did they ever make it to this city of Dale beyond the Long Lake?"

"There's a lot more to the story. I'll tell you tomorrow, I promise." If he was lucky, he might be able to make the adventures of the Bagginses and their friends last until Atem was back on his feet and had no more need for stories.

As it turned out, Yuugi would not keep his promise.

* * *

Yuugi awoke to the sound of screaming. He slid into his robe and tied his wrap as he ran, not even stopping to put on his sandals. If the palace were being invaded - unlikely but possible - he would take a knife from the kitchen quarter and head back to Atem's room to join whatever guard might be posted there, and he would fight until he dropped.

When he reached the slave quarter, he only wished he could be part of a guard. The invasion had already happened, and had claimed no prisoners - only a victim.

Shemei sat on the floor of Merishu's sickroom, his body in her arms. Yuugi watched automatically for Merishu's belly to rise with his next breath.

It did not.

Yuugi slipped through the crowd of slaves. Shemei saw him and accosted him.

"Aibou - "

He knew what she wanted. One look at Merishu's lips, normally the colour of wine and now tinged with blue, told him it was probably too late. Yuugi felt for a pulse anyway. If there was any chance at all -

There was not.

Suddenly the room seemed too small, the people too close. Yuugi lowered his eyes as a low murmur rippled through the group. Shemei began wailing again. Yuugi heard a commotion among the slaves. He didn't look up. He'd failed. Merishu would never play tag with his brother again.

"What's going on here?" Set's voice, rough with sleep and confused anger. "It's the middle of the - "

He stopped.

Yuugi heard the rustle of fabric. Mahado knelt down next to Shemei and put a hand on her shoulder. Shemei's screams dissolved into the kind of tears that had always made Yuugi's stomach ache when he was done crying, loud and deep.

"Slave Aibou."

Yuugi moved his head to acknowledge that he heard. He heard all too well.

"Is there nothing to be done?"

Yuugi shook his head without looking up. He felt a pair of tears trickling silently down his face and made no attempt to brush them away. Somewhere above him, Set sighed.

"Someone has to tell him."

There was no doubt which "him" Set meant. Merishu had only two living relatives, and one of them was female. Yuugi cringed. He could imagine all too well standing by Atem's bed, giving him the news.

_I know I said I'd take care of him, but something went wrong. The medicine didn't do what it's supposed to. He died. I'm sorry._

If he were the one who had to deliver the news, he imagined Merishu's death wouldn't be the only one in the palace tonight. He couldn't even plead innocence by way of only being the messenger.

There was another rustle of fabric. Yuugi saw a pair of legs out of the corner of his eye. A hand descended gently onto Merishu's head.

"May your heart speak only the truth to the gods, little one."

The tone was one Yuugi would never have suspected Set capable of. Suddenly he hoped Set would be the one to tell Atem. He was not a man who took well to stupidity, and he told the truth as he saw it, but Yuugi had the sudden feeling Set was also well-practiced in the art of tact where it was necessary. And better the news be delivered by a friend than a slave.

Mahado rubbed Shemei's shoulder, a small act of comfort, and rose to his feet. He followed Set out of the room. Yuugi waited for someone to tell Shemei to be quiet - probably Ankhnadin, if Yuugi had the priests pegged as well as he thought and all of them were here - but nobody did. Yuugi sat as the crowd dissipated. He still had no idea how to address the woman sitting to his left. She had trusted him to heal her son, and he'd failed her. He heard her take a deep and wavering breath. Maybe she was going to yell at him. Yuugi almost hoped she would. Anything would be better than this heavy weight, tension under which Yuugi thought he might finally snap.

Shemei did not yell at him. She only asked him to get a bowl of water, a large one, and soap.

Yuugi did.

* * *

Yuugi looked at the tiny body lying on the mat. He had spent the morning and part of the afternoon going through the motions of Shemei's usual tasks, while in the room that had become Merishu's deathroom Shemei and Idut bathed Merishu's body and dressed him. Yuugi had wanted to see him again. He didn't look exactly right - no fancy death-makeup for Merishu - but he was supposed to be interred in his father's tomb, and the next time any of them saw him, he wouldn't look like Merishu at all anymore.

Yuugi wanted to leave him something. It had been Yuugi's practice since his father's death to leave a yen for the boatman, but here there was no yen and no boatman, only a passage through the hall of judgment. Yuugi had gone early that day into the little room where he slept and retrieved a small string of wooden beads Atem had given him, and now he tucked those into Merishu's hand instead. It was the only personal item he had, the only currency available. One of the other slaves gathered around the body looked at him curiously. Yuugi didn't bother meeting her gaze.

There was a noise in the corridor outside the room. Yuugi didn't look up, but he could hardly miss the familiar rustling as the slaves around him touched their foreheads to the floor. Yuugi didn't join them, nor did he wonder how or why Atem had gotten out of bed on his own.

He had come to mourn.

Even with his eyes fixed on Merishu's face Yuugi could count the legs on the other side of the mat. Six. Under other circumstances Yuugi might have wondered who had supported Atem through the long corridors and down two flights of stairs.

Atem knelt on the other side of the little body, laid on its side facing west, one hand under the head. He ran his fingers through the neat sidelock, long and black, and over the shaved skin, enveloped the small hand with one of his own. He found the string of beads inside the loosely curled fist. Yuugi felt Atem's eyes on his bowed head, but did not look up. He wondered if he'd ever be able to look Atem in the face again.

Atem slipped the beads out of Merishu's hand, tied the string gently around the little wrist, kissed the back of the hand before lowering it back to the mat.

All around him, Yuugi could feel slaves turning away, leaving. He saw a tear land on Merishu's cheek, the long brown fingers that brushed it away, and he understood. He got to his feet, found the robe he'd abandoned earlier in the day, and draped it gently over Atem's bare shoulders before heading for the door.

Atem's voice stopped him.

"You left this with him."

Yuugi did not turn around, but knew that Atem's fingers were on the string of beads.

"They're for the boatman," Yuugi said, still facing away.

"The boatman." It was not a question, but it asked for confirmation all the same.

"The boatman who takes you across the river into the afterlife."

Atem asked him a question he didn't understand. He thought he might have heard the last word while talking to Jii-chan or one of Jii-chan's friends, but he couldn't remember.

"I don't understand."

"It's your gift. To ensure he makes it through judgment safely."

"Something like that."

He left before Atem could ask him anything more.

* * *

Yuugi's chest hurt. He thought it might be the result of the tears he'd spent the day shedding in a silence so complete the other slaves found it eerie. Or maybe he'd finally caught pneumonia his own stupid self, and he was dying. The idea should not be so comforting, he thought as he coughed loudly. The sound was dry.

People with pneumonia did not have a dry cough.

Not pneumonia, then. Just a chest cold, probably caught while he was running himself ragged failing.

He told people he was fine. He would not be dying anytime soon. He asked Idut to take his place in Atem's room. He found some early dates and nibbled them slowly. They had no taste. Then he retreated to his bed. He did not trust himself to accomplish any given chore without getting someone sick. At some point someone left food outside his room. He ate it mechanically. Eventually he would have to return to the rest of the world. Then he would be held to account for Merishu's death. He would also be held to account for running off this way. Atem might get away with it, but Atem was not a slave.

Yuugi decided he didn't really care. He was beyond exhaustion, and so far into emotional burnout he wasn't sure he'd ever get back. He found he didn't care much about that, either. Instead, he turned his face to the wall and let himself sleep.

He had no idea how long he slept. When he woke up, he knew only that someone had left him a small bowl of beer and half a canteloupe. He ate and drank, left to take care of what his father had dubbed "nature's call," and then made his way to the kitchen quarter. He felt a good deal better physically. He was still suffering from sniffles and heartsickness, but sniffles were rarely contagious and heartsickness couldn't hurt anyone.

Yuugi expected a fair amount of bustle, and was surprised when he found only Idut, quietly eating bread and the other half of the canteloupe that had been left in his room. Her voice, when she spoke, was soothing.

"I think I woke you. I'm sorry."

Yuugi shrugged. "Don't worry about it." He sat down with her, wondering what time it was. Idut gave him a piece of her bread, and Yuugi ate it.

"So do you have any idea when my execution is?"

Idut's eyes were confused. "Execution?"

"When they're planning to kill me or torture me or whatever they're going to do."

Idut finished her bread. "They're not doing anything to you, Aibou. It's understood you've been doing far more than your share. Siamun told us to let you sleep."

"Merishu - "

"We're waiting to celebrate his death until the pharaoh can join us."

Yuugi found it strange to call mourning a celebration, but he didn't bother commenting. Death was as common as life here, no big deal, really. Except when you were seventeen years old and the dead person was your only known surviving relative, Yuugi thought. He had little doubt Atem would have something to say about that.

"What time is it?" Yuugi wanted something more to drink. He didn't draw it.

"Just after moonset. Madu's upstairs now."

Yuugi tried to not show his surprise. He'd slept almost a full twelve hours, but he was still exhausted, and had somehow expected it to be no later than sunset. He yawned in spite of himself.

"You should sleep, Aibou."

"I already did that."

"You're not due back to the pharaoh's side until tomorrow evening, and I don't think anyone expects you to actually make it there until the day after tomorrow at the earliest. You should sleep." Her smile was soft and sad, but tried to be reassuring all the same. "We can manage for a few days."

_Now that Merishu's gone,_ Yuugi's mind added. _Now that there's only one to watch for._

He listened anyway, padding back down the familiar corridors to the little room with the feather tick. He expected sleep to come slowly in spite of his exhaustion. He had no chance to be surprised at its swift descent. 


	10. The Shift: III

Hey, paisanos. I fail at life. How, you ask? Well, I forgot the epigram at the beginning of this story. For your convenience, it's posted with this chapter. Also, if you live in the US and are currently 18 (or will be before the elections this November), I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage you to join me and register to vote. Kay? Thanks!

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 10/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 3 904  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **illness** and **drug use**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi does stuff. Set is not (as much of) a bitch.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Drug use. And sickness.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **olesia.love**, who is a kind and patient fact-checker.

* * *

_Is it written in the stars? Are we paying for some crime?  
Is that all that we are good for - just some stretch of mortal time  
For some god's experiment in which we have no say?  
In which we're given paradise, but only for a day?_

"Written in the Stars," Aida (Lyrics by Tim Rice)

* * *

Yuugi hesitated just outside the doorway. Any minute now he was going to have to walk into the room in front of him, and then - provided there was no cry for his immediate execution - he would have to make an account for Merishu's death. He'd already had a six-day reprieve, sleeping through most of the first two altogether. He supposed he could have pretended continued illness and tried to buy himself a day or two of extra time, but the rebellious part of his spirit wouldn't allow it. And anyway, this part argued, wasn't that kind of cowardice just a metaphorical way of spitting in Merishu's dead face? He had tried, he had failed, a little boy was dead. It was high time he stepped up and admitted it was his fault.

He slipped through the door, keeping his eyes off the faces looking back at him, and was appalled to find himself near tears.

"I'm here."

He chanced a glance up at the pair sitting on the bed. Atem's eyes were too relaxed, too dark. It was a look he'd seen before, and everything in him cried out angrily against it. Then a small voice piped up in his head. It was a voice he recognised from his time before Atem, before the Millennium Items, before everything that had shaped and changed him into the person he was now. He was not particularly happy about its return.

_His brother's dead because one of his most trusted slaves - that's you, by the way, no idea why, but it's true - fucked up. If anyone has the right to check out of the world for awhile, it's him, and if you want to complain about it, you can just go spit, because it's your fault to begin with._

Atem's eyes closed. Yuugi marked the lines in his face, the look of something shattered and pieced carefully back together through long days and hours of work. Madu slid off the bed. Yuugi took his place, waiting all the time for Atem to pull away, demand someone else, send Yuugi away in disgust. Instead he simply leaned back into Yuugi's arms, worn but not finished, still trusting, still believing.

It was Atem who spoke first, and when he did, Yuugi jumped.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Huh?"

Yuugi brushed Atem's hair off his face. It was something to do.

Atem gestured toward a bowl sitting on the stand by the bed. Yuugi could see something dark in it. He thought it might be the horrible-tasting potion Bomani's men had forced on him when they'd found him in the desert. Why anyone would drink it of their own free will was entirely beyond him.

"I couldn't sleep. Madu brought - " The word he used was one with which Yuugi was unfamiliar, but Yuugi thought he might know now what was in the bowl all the same. Natural sedative, found in the part of the world that in Yuugi's time was called the Middle East? Probably opium. Maybe cocaine, or it might be LSD he was thinking of - Yuugi was more than a little hazy on what kind of drugs could be obtained from opium poppies - but the raw product seemed far more likely.

"I don't suppose you have a magic potion for that, too."

Yuugi could feel his throat trying to lock up. He swallowed hard.

"I don't have a magic potion for anything." Here it was. "I don't even have magic." The air suddenly seemed to contain far too little oxygen. Yuugi tried to slow his breathing before he started hyperventilating. Tears he could deal with, but passing out was far from a good idea. "I wish I did. I wish I could do magic. Because - "

A hand caressed his arm. "Calm yourself, little Aibou."

"I'm _sorry_," Yuugi said, well aware that the tears on his face did not qualify as calming himself. "I promised you I'd take care of him, and - "

"Nobody expected you to succeed. We prayed that you would, even though nobody else had . . . because you were the last hope. But we were all aware that the odds were stacked highly against you."

"Yeah, but I said - I promised - I thought - "

"You had faith in something that I assume worked for you before, little Aibou. There's no shame in that." A long pause. Yuugi could hear Atem drawing a breath far deeper than any he'd been capable of when Yuugi had last sat with him. It wavered slightly. "The gods have a reason for everything."

Yuugi's internal battle was lost. He did not just cry; he sobbed. Atem said nothing as Yuugi buried his face against Atem's shoulder. He only laid a hand against Yuugi's and left it there. Yuugi's tears wound slowly down to nothing, and only then did Atem speak again.

"The more I see of you, little Aibou, the more I think the men of your country must be insane."

Yuugi took a deep and wavery breath. "Why?"

"You hide so much." He sighed and shifted restlessly. "When Idut said you cried without sound, I thought she must be deluded."

Yuugi knew Atem couldn't see him, but he shrugged anyway before sniffling and rubbing at his eyes with his one free hand. When his father had died, it was how his mother had cried - and when Yuugi had outright wailed, not understanding "dead" at all but knowing what "gone away" meant all too well, she had hushed him. Her lesson was reinforced by years of bullies who would laugh if he cried, and beat him again if he made sound. It had become second nature.

"I don't suppose you'd let me go to the temple."

Yuugi knew what Atem must want there - to pray for Merishu, or to leave a sacrifice on his behalf, or maybe both - and knowing made it that much harder to give his answer.

"You'd suppose right." Now was no time for Atem to be fasting and spending time outside. Atem sighed and shifted restlessly in Yuugi's arms.

"Even with your potions, magic or otherwise?"

"You got it." Yuugi paused. "And I hope you haven't completely wrecked them with that stuff, either." He pointed to the bowl of opium. "It - " The words _depresses the central nervous system_ tried to jump off his tongue, and he revised them. "It makes your heart and lungs slow down."

"I know."

Yuugi restrained himself - with a great deal of effort - from screaming aloud at the man in his arms. He'd known the risk, and he'd done it anyway.

_Maybe he did it_ because_ of the risk. Did you ever think of that?_

Atem turned his head to the side and rested it against Yuugi's shoulder. His eyes were closed. He looked exhausted.

"How much of that stuff did you drink, anyway?" Yuugi didn't know any cures for opium, but if he had to, he would stick his fingers right down Atem's throat. No pharaoh was going to commit suicide on Yuugi's watch, thank you.

"Not much."

Yuugi supposed it was a stupid question; the bowl was still mostly full. He could feel Atem drifting into sleep in his arms.

_Don't fuck up this time, genius. Do whatever you can for him. Okay? Okay._

Yuugi did not eat when he left Atem with Madu in the early hours of the morning.

* * *

This was the part Yuugi hated.

It struck him, as he made his way through the long corridors of the palace, that there was always such a part. At the doctor's office, where people always wanted to stick something cold, sharp, and pointy in his skin to draw cells and find out why he still wasn't growing. During school exams, where there was without fail a section he'd forgotten to study for. And while taking care of a sick pharaoh, which was going to necessitate another long and painful conversation with a high priest who was unpleasantly like a certain Kaiba Seto.

He found Set sitting in a mixed group of priests and other high officials, discussing something Yuugi didn't try to eavesdrop on. The looks on their faces said it was important, and he thought he'd be much better placed to make his request if he stayed out of earshot.

Siamun saw him and motioned to him, then raised his voice, the better to be heard.

"Aibou. Come join us."

Yuugi moved slowly, sure there had to be some kind of mistake. He bowed respectfully; he had no idea who he was looking at, and considered it the safest course of action.

"This is the boy taking care of the pharaoh."

A low murmur ran through the group of officials. Siamun smiled at him, a friendly and somewhat reassuring gesture.

"Tell us, Aibou - how does he fare?"

Yuugi considered. The truth, plain and unvarnished, was that Atem was now in a kind of limbo. He hadn't relapsed, but he wasn't getting any better, either. Yuugi shrugged.

"It's hard to say," he finally admitted. "I think he'll be okay, but it could take a couple of months before he's completely healed."

"But you have hopes for his recovery."

Yuugi nodded. "He's strong. Right now he just needs to make up his mind that he's going to be all right. He still needs rest, but he's getting stronger by the day."

Siamun practically beamed. "Wonderful news, Aibou." He paused. "Did Shemei send you to us?"

Yuugi could feel the blush rising in his face. "Um . . . no. Actually I was looking for - I needed to - to talk to Set."

Set rose from his place, brushed his clothes down, and led Yuugi out of the hall.

"What is it you want now?"

Yuugi bit his lip. This whole thing had sounded much easier in his head.

"Um - well - it's just - "

"In case you're unaware, slave Aibou, the pharaoh is incapable of ruling in his current condition. That means the decisions he would make are now spread among well over a dozen people. We can't tolerate interruptions for minutiae."

"I know that," Yuugi said, trying to control his rising temper. "I wouldn't have come to you if I thought I could get help somewhere else. It's for the pharaoh."

Somewhere in the back of his head, Yuugi reflected that the magic word in Egypt was not "please" but "pharaoh." Set's entire demeanour changed with that single sentence. Encouraged, Yuugi pressed onward.

"He said he wanted to go to the temple after Merishu died, but he's still too weak to go outside. He could get sick again. And I was going to go in his place, but - I kind of don't know where the temple is."

"You can't enter the temple. You're a slave."

"I know. But I could take a - a sacrifice, or something - and give it to the priests, couldn't I?" This was the impression Yuugi had gotten from the books he'd read.

"If you were allowed to leave the palace alone, yes. But you're not. And you forget your place, slave Aibou."

Yuugi shuffled. Somewhere along the way he'd forgotten that Set would never have seen any "ER" reruns.

"Well - in my country, we believe that if someone's sick, one of the best ways to let them heal is to let them have an easy mind." This was a phrase Yuugi had first heard from Shemei, and he found it quite apt for the present situation. "And I just thought - maybe it would make the pharaoh feel better to know somebody went in his place. That Merishu wasn't forgotten."

Set simply stared at Yuugi as though he were some kind of fascinating museum object. Yuugi repressed the all-too-familiar urge to scream. Set sighed.

"If you're not at the front gates at sunrise, you can forget everything, slave Aibou."

Yuugi nodded. Set swept past him and back to his discussions. Yuugi set off to finish his daily tasks, hoping Set wasn't just going to try to get him in trouble. He stayed away from the kitchen quarter as much as possible, the better to resist temptation. He sat through the night with Atem.

And waited.

* * *

Yuugi had to run to make the palace gates by sunrise. With him he brought beer and bread. He had nothing of his own that he could add. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Set waiting for him. They set out without a word, Yuugi practically running to keep up with Set's brisk pace and longer legs. He wished Set would slow down; he'd never seen the city in the morning, and somehow it was much more interesting to see when he could also be seen. Men, women, children, and animals moved all around him, a disorganised kind of movement completely different from the palace. They passed through a broad street where a few intrepid merchants had set up shop, selling the kind of wares that required skill to produce - Yuugi saw at least three separate pottery stalls.

In spite of the rapid pace they kept, it took close to half an hour to reach the temple. Yuugi wondered if there was some reason it was so far from the palace as he went up the stairs and waited. He tried not to yawn. He had no idea how to pray - not to the gods of _this_ pantheon, anyway - and so he simply sat, waiting patiently to be relieved of his burden, wondering where Merishu's soul - his ka and ba, separated from each other until he crossed into the afterlife - was right now. He'd known the answer, once upon a time. He was pretty sure Merishu could cross before his body was completely preserved, but he didn't actually know anymore. He hoped Merishu would pass judgment. There would, Yuugi thought, be something supremely unfair about a little kid catching pneumonia, dying, and then having his soul eaten by the kind of creature Yuugi had once thought lived under his bed. He couldn't think of anything an eight-year-old might have done that would be horrible enough to lose his heart to Ammit, unless whining about bedtime counted. He didn't think it would.

_It's a really heavy feather. We had it made special. You have to be pretty damn evil to tip the scales on that baby,_ Yuugi thought, and suppressed a smile. He'd gotten the book off the shelf in the treehouse. Anzu hadn't liked it much. Yuugi had loved it, and as he sat in the early-morning sunshine it occurred to him that it was exactly the kind of story Atem would eat like chocolate. Yuugi wondered if he could remember enough of it to adapt it. He had a feeling Atem might not be so wild about the hobbits anymore.

At last he was relieved of the food and drink he'd brought with him. He asked the priest if it could be dedicated in Merishu's name on behalf of the pharaoh, and was assured that it could be. He looked around to find Set. At first glance the man was nowhere in sight, and Yuugi had the distinct, sinking feeling that he'd been had. Any moment now Set would come stalking up and tell him he'd been caught running away. Then he saw a flash of gold, and Set was standing by him. Yuugi got to his feet, and they made for the palace in the same silence they had left it.

"You might as well sleep." Yuugi could hear the subtext in Set's tone: he didn't care a damn one way or the other, but Siamun would have his head if Yuugi fell ill again for reasons Set could have prevented. Yuugi didn't care on whose orders he was supposed to be sleeping. If they were offering him sleep, he would take it. He was exhausted. But -

"Who's going to take care of - the pharaoh?" For half a second Atem's name tried to slip off Yuugi's tongue, and that would have caused more than a little trouble. Set appeared to not notice.

"Arrangements will be made."

Yuugi wanted to argue - wanted to make sure that the arrangements Set spoke of so casually would actually be put into practice - but he was too tired. And so when they reached the palace, he simply headed off to the kitchen quarter for something to eat. He took a pomegranate from the pantry and nibbled the seeds all the way back to his room, where he flopped on the bed, exhausted and yet unable to sleep. Instead he stared at the crack running across the ceiling.

"Dear diary," he murmured. "Today Set was actually _civil_ to me. I think a world just ended somewhere."

The crack in the ceiling did not answer. Yuugi sighed and rolled over, snuggling into the mattress.

And slept.

* * *

Yuugi padded quickly but silently up the staircase to Atem's room. He had the distinct feeling he'd overslept by at least an hour, and that meant Atem had been sitting alone for at least sixty minutes. He paused on the last riser that would keep him hidden from the door. He could hear voices inside. 

" - may have to reconsider," Set's voice was saying. "Damn it, Atem - "

"You're never going to beat me, Set. Get over it."

"I almost had you last game. Admit it."

Yuugi raised his hand automatically to stifle the giggles trying to bubble up inside him. If he ever needed proof that Set and Kaiba were two different people with the same ba, all he'd have to do was remember that moment. In the mind of Kaiba Seto, "almost" did not count.

"You did not, and I will not. And stop trying to distract me. He's only a slave." 

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, if I were you. He doesn't carry himself like one. And it's quite obvious you enjoy his company."

"People who get close to me have this tendency to die, Set. Just in case you hadn't noticed."

Yuugi heard the rustle of fabric.

"I suppose it's your choice. A shame, though, really. He's intelligent, and he's already more than proven he's loyal." The click of a piece being moved. "And not bad-looking, if you're of that persuasion."

Yuugi could not see into the room any more than the people inside could see him, but he knew Atem's eyebrow was raised. Just a slave or not, he could tell.

"Are you advising me to start an illicit affair with my personal slave, Set?"

Yuugi's hand drifted up to his mouth again. Only Atem would ask a question like that.

"Absolutely not. He's foreign, for one, and as you pointed out, he's just a slave." A pause. "It would be completely inappropriate."

Yuugi clamped both hands over his mouth, not trusting himself to stay quiet. _All these years you thought you were getting one over on him, and he's been playing you like a game of chess._

"Mmm." Which, Yuugi knew, was Atem-speak for _I'll have to do that, then._ Yuugi tuned out of the conversation and worked at making his face straight before going in.

At some point Set had become convinced that Atem's illness was not contagious, and now he was sitting on Atem's bench, which he'd pulled close to the bed. Atem was sitting up of his own accord, a checkerboard balanced on his legs. Yuugi felt a smile creeping across his face at the sight. It was an excellent sign. Neither of them acknowledged Yuugi when he walked in, but that was only to be expected; Set never acknowledged any of the slaves, and it was Atem's turn to move. Yuugi bowed, then sat on the far side of the bed and scooted toward the middle to kibitz. It was a close game, and Yuugi thought Set might just win if Atem didn't see the move right in front of him, the one that was completely counterintuitive but would let him clear the board. It would involve taking two turns instead of one, and he'd lose a piece in the process, but it would do the trick - _if_ he saw it.

Atem made his move. Set jumped three of his four remaining pieces. Yuugi tried not to sigh. It would take hours to make Atem stop pouting.

And then Atem moved _backward._

Yuugi struggled to suppress the grin threatening to break to the surface. It was the equivalent of a king-piece. Set couldn't jump it unless he had a king-piece of his own, and in the meantime Atem was going to back himself into a corner, where he couldn't be blindsided.

The space of two minutes decided the match. Atem backed into his corner, jumped Set's attacking piece, made for the center of the board, and jumped the four remaining pieces in a single move. The look Set gave him was more than just irritated.

"I swear the gods must have taught you to cheat."

"I never cheat, Set. I only use an unfair advantage."

Yuugi couldn't help it. A snort escaped from between his hands. Atem turned an inquisitive eyebrow on him.

"Is something funny, slave Aibou?"

Yuugi made a valiant effort to stop laughing. It didn't go well. Atem simply waited out Yuugi's latest fit of the giggles. Finally Yuugi managed to calm himself.

"I was just wondering - what's the difference between cheating and having an unfair advantage?" Yuugi could feel his face working, and bit down hard on the insides of his cheeks.

"Cheating is when you have an advantage that's against the rules. An unfair advantage is an advantage the other person could have used, if they'd only thought of it. Since the other person didn't, I did, while still complying with the rules of the game."

"Oh." Yuugi supposed that made sense.

Set stood up and smoothed out his robes. "Which is all very interesting, but since slave Aibou has decided to grace us with his presence, I have tasks to see to." And he walked out.

"Don't mind him. He just hates to lose," Atem said as Yuugi put the checkerboard back where it belonged. He leaned back and sighed.

"He said you took an offering to the temple today."

The morning already seemed a thousand years ago, and Yuugi actually had to stop to think about it. "Yeah."

Atem's lips quirked. "Thank you."

Yuugi shrugged and sat back down on the bed. Atem raised an eyebrow at him again. "I don't suppose I'm allowed to actually lay down to sleep like a normal person yet."

Yuugi considered. "I guess you could try it."

"Good." Atem closed his eyes. Yuugi had nothing to do but watch him sleep, and eventually he began thinking about the conversation - almost an argument - between Set and Atem before he'd walked in.

_Are you advising me to start an illicit affair with my personal slave?_

Yuugi's eyes opened wide.

_Wait a minute. Wait just a minute._

Set's voice echoed in his head.

_He's foreign, for one._

Yuugi's wide-eyed stare turned on the man sleeping in the bed.

_They were talking about_ me!


	11. The Sickness: II

Hey, guys! For those who have been following my job search, guess what. I start training tomorrow. BUT. I'll be working second shift. That means I can still get down here to post!

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 11/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 4 367  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M**  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Atem is restless. Set is actually _friendly_. Has someone been messing with the thermostat in hell?  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **olesia.love**, who is a kind and patient fact-checker.

"Aibou."

Yuugi jumped and dropped his pot. Hot coals scattered and sizzled on the hardpan, and Yuugi hurried to scoop them back into the pot. Sooner or later he was going to have to get used to people sneaking up on him like this. Madu knelt down next to him and held the pot so Yuugi could rake the coals back in before they went dead.

"The pharaoh wants you."

Yuugi sighed. He knew it was Atem's privilege to call for any slave at any time, but it was really starting to get on Yuugi's nerves. He was starting to think his routine summoning to Atem's side was really nothing more than the equivalent of Set and off-colour humour. Atem had a way of figuring out just exactly what would irritate someone the most, and then making good use of it. Yuugi brushed ash and dirt off his knees. He touched the rim of the pot with his foot, careful to keep away from the coals.

"Can you take this down to the last oven for me?"

Madu nodded, and Yuugi set out for Atem's room. He found Atem alone, and scolded himself mentally before he could even start chewing on his lip. Atem hadn't been left unattended for more than a minute at a time in nearly five weeks, and he was by nature both rebellious and energetic. It was only natural that at some point he would demand a few minutes for himself. And probably sheer coincidence that he would call for Yuugi the first time he made such a demand, even after his discussion with Set about -

Yuugi felt the familiar dull pain in his lower lip and forced himself to stop. If he kept it up, he was going to end up with a split lip instead of a chapped one. He dragged the bench up to the bed. Atem's voice stopped him before he could sit.

"I want to know when I'm going to be allowed out of this damned bed."

It was the first time Yuugi had ever heard him curse, and it only underlined his frustration. Yuugi had spent the last five weeks sympathising without giving an inch. He could only imagine what it was like to be an active and independent man forced to be completely reliant on others, but wandering around the palace would not be conducive to the kind of healing Atem needed. Finally Yuugi shrugged.

"If you want to try getting up for awhile, I won't stop you."

Yuugi found a clean tunic and put it on the bench, then retreated to the door and turned his back. If Atem needed him, he was more than sufficiently recovered to say so. Yuugi wanted terribly to turn back around, watch as Atem put his feet on the floor and stood up on his own for the first time in more than a month, but he didn't. He heard Atem fall, glanced back quickly over his shoulder, and then turned his head back as though he'd heard nothing. Atem appeared to be unhurt, and Yuugi knew he would only be adding insult to injury if he offered a hand up. Atem's pride had suffered enough; there was no reason to take it away altogether. Even so, Yuugi was relieved when he heard Atem sit on the bench to dress.

Yuugi gave Atem five minutes; when no further sound was forthcoming, he turned around. Atem was what Yuugi's mother would have called "decent," but no more. Yuugi suspected he was afraid to try for his sandals, and the thought hurt him deeply. He wasn't interested in Atem - not the way Set had implied, anyway - but there was something fundamentally wrong with the idea of Atem being afraid of something as simple as standing up. Yuugi wanted to say something, do something, _anything_. Something to take that beaten look off Atem's face and give him back his dignity. Yuugi couldn't think - not a single solitary idea came to him - and so instead he turned to the inner chorus of voices that had gotten him through the last - had it really been a year? Yuugi thought it had - and asked for advice. He listened to the various and sundry responses, picking through them to find the best.

_Just let him go, man,_ Jounouchi advised.

_Make a game out of it. He likes games,_ Honda said.

_Tell him he has to make up his mind,_ Jii-chan chided.

_There's nothing you can do, honey,_ his mother offered in her voice that was never quite right. _He has to do it on his own._

Yuugi didn't like any of their answers. At last Anzu spoke up, and Yuugi thought her suggestion was the one he'd been waiting for. He cast his eyes on the long-neglected table he supposed he'd always think of as Atem's vanity stand. Yuugi had been careful to make sure it collected no dust, but the items on it had been untouched since they had been removed from Atem's unconscious body at the beginning of this whole nightmare. Yuugi wondered who had put them back on the table. Madu had undoubtedly taken them off, but the careful order made him think Set must have had a hand in the job, too.

It didn't matter. They could have been lined up by Osiris himself, for all Yuugi cared. What he wanted was the item sitting not quite in the middle, and he picked it up carefully. It was the first time he'd ever seen it up close. There was a tiny nick in it just below the eye in the centre. Yuugi thought privately that it was really a wonder the thing wasn't in even worse shape, when he considered the beating Atem gave it. Yuugi balanced it carefully on his hands, made for Atem's bench, and knelt in front of it with his head bowed - not just giving him the crown, but presenting it.

_You're the king of one of the most powerful countries in the history of the world, damn it. If you can knowingly condemn yourself to three thousand years of the gods only know what kind of hell - condemn yourself when for all you know it could be forever - you can stand up and get your damned shoes. You're stronger than this. I know you are._

Yuugi felt the crown lifted from his hands. If he looked up, he knew he would see Atem sliding it into place. A hand fell on his shoulder, followed by a heavy weight as Atem forced himself up off the bench. Yuugi smiled, his face still turned toward the floor. Footsteps almost too quiet to be heard padded away from him, and out of the corner of his eye Yuugi could see Atem shuffling slowly toward the table. He slipped his feet into his sandals. For one moment Yuugi thought he was going to forget himself and try to sit down, but he didn't. Yuugi got to his feet and dusted his knees with the absence of habit. Atem put his hands on the table, and Yuugi pulled the bench back to its proper place. Atem sat down, considered his face in the mirror, and slipped the cord of the God Pyramid over his head.

"Let's get out of here."

Yuugi paused in the process of looking for something Atem could pull around his bare arms. The idea of Atem actually leaving the room once he was dressed hadn't occurred to him, and the idea of anyone seeing him this way - without any mark of his rank beyond the crown and Pyramid - was somehow akin to the idea of people seeing him naked. Yuugi knew it would be madness to expect Atem to don the gold bands that had been his lot since the day his father died - how was he to bear their added weight when his legs would barely hold his own? - and yet something about the notion was oddly repellent. He hadn't worn even the crown to what Yuugi kept thinking of as Merishu's funeral, but that had seemed somehow appropriate. That had been in the face of death. This . . . this was just a restless teenager who couldn't stay in one place anymore. Yuugi nibbled at his lip, stopped himself, and finally gave up on his search for a cape or cloak Atem could cover his arms with.

"If you're ready, I guess - " He didn't bother finishing the sentence. The thought, though fragmented in presentation, was already complete. Atem swiveled around on the bench, put his hands on it, and pushed himself up. There was a momentary silence, tension so high Yuugi almost wanted to scream just to break it.

Then Atem looked at him and held out a hand.

Yuugi waited, unsure what was being asked of him. Atem beckoned to him, and he moved to stand by Atem's side. Atem put an arm around Yuugi's waist and turned toward the door. Yuugi walked with him, and when Atem stumbled just inside the door, Yuugi caught his waist to stop him from falling.

And they walked.

---------------------------

Yuugi let Atem go where he wanted, moving into the lead only on the staircases. If Atem was going to stumble on the risers, Yuugi would rather he had something - or someone - to break his fall. He had no idea where Atem might take him; he knew there were vast sections of the palace that he'd never seen. In spite of Atem's routine being fairly straightforward, Yuugi was somewhat shocked when they turned a corner into the familiar rooms and corridors of the kitchen quarter. Yuugi hadn't had any idea it could be accessed without going through the slave quarter first.

He supposed he should have expected what happened next, but even Yuugi's imagination extended only so far. Even so, when it happened, it was a relief.

It began with Hebony, carrying a pot across a corridor and out to the ovens. She saw the white of Atem's tunic out of the corner of her eye, turned her head, and then without pause set down her work and knelt. Yuugi started toward her instinctively - nobody dropped that fast for no reason - and then Atem's hand descended on her head in a silent blessing. Yuugi remained glued to his side.

The tableau repeated itself as they walked, first one slave, then another, then four in a group. Yuugi could hear a rustling sound like the wind in the tree outside his bedroom window in Domino, and knew it for the sound of murmurs among those still ahead. Had he thought they would laugh at their king, mock his bare skin and slow gait? Had he really? Atem paused and leaned his weight against the wall to rest, and Yuugi could feel in the air all around them that should Atem fall, there would be half a dozen ready to put themselves in his way to protect him. At last he moved on, and Yuugi stayed with him.

"What is going _on_ out here? We have people to feed, and - "

Shemei stopped abruptly in the middle of the corridor. Next to Yuugi, Atem also stopped. Shemei took two halting steps toward them, and stopped again. Yuugi was reminded forcefully of antique tin wind-up dolls. Then Shemei came forward briskly and reached for Atem's arm. He stopped her hand, took it, squeezed it. She touched his face. Then she started to cry, and when she raised her voice to be heard through the quarter, her words gave Yuugi chills.

"Let the gods be praised! He lives! The pharaoh lives, and stands with us!"

---------------------------------------

Atem sat on a folded piece of cloth, his legs tucked neatly beneath him, to eat. Yuugi watched him as he all but tore into the food that had been provided for him, quite possibly the first meal he'd eaten without help in more than a month. Yuugi imagined Set would rip his head off later for not notifying him immediately that Atem was, in Set's words, "sufficiently recovered" to sit and eat in company, but Yuugi thought he knew Atem better than that. Putting him back wherever it was he normally ate - Yuugi had never served him at meals, and didn't know - would be a bad idea right now. In spite of his protests it was obvious that he was still easily tired, and therefore short-tempered. Here Atem was among friends, after a fashion, who did not expect him to follow the many varied - and sometimes demanding - rules of etiquette. There he would be expected to sit up straight and in a certain fashion, to eat in a certain way, and possibly to be entertaining. Yuugi didn't even want to think about what might happen if Atem exhausted himself trying to live up to the expectations held of a living god. They might believe him to be some kind of human incarnation of Anubis or Horus or whichever one it was, but Yuugi knew Atem was really just a teenager who was miraculously pulling through a long and life-threatening illness. Assuming him to be completely well just because he could stand and walk would be flat-out insanity.

Atem paused in his mauling of a stem of grapes to hold out the small bowl in which they sat.

"Want one?"

Yuugi's eyes widened. Atem had offered him food before, of course, but then he had been offering something easily obtained and readily grown. Grapes were a luxury item. Yuugi had never been fond of grapes - he thought it might have something to do with the large amounts of grape-flavoured cold medicine that had been forced down his throat as a child - but it would almost certainly be rudeness bordering on outright heresy to turn them down, and so he took one.

"Thanks."

Atem shrugged, as if to say it was nothing, and picked another one off the stem. Yuugi bit into his, then sucked the inside out of the skin. It was large, and surprisingly sweet. He swallowed it, vaguely conscious that Atem was now watching him instead of the other way around.

"Does everyone also have grapes where you're from, little Aibou?"

Yuugi blinked at him, confused. Then he remembered their conversation the day of Idut's arrival, the one where he'd told Atem that in Japan everyone had hot water. Little wonder he'd nearly forgotten it; Idut had been in the palace for close on eight months. Sometimes he was amazed by the things Atem chose to remember.

"Um. No. Well, I mean, we could. If we wanted. But not everybody eats them."

Atem took a bite of melon. "Do you trade with _England_ for them, or do your people grow their own?"

Yuugi tried not to stare enviously at the melon; he was hungry. "Um - I'm not really sure. I kind of never paid much attention when my teacher was talking about intercountry trade," he admitted. Atem's eyebrows went up.

"And you have schools?"

Yuugi nodded. Atem only looked thoughtful. Yuugi wondered if he was trying to figure out what kind of a country had people who could all afford school and grapes and hot water, but who were crazy enough to walk around in clothing that covered them from neck to foot.

Atem finished his melon and carefully put his bowl on top of the clay plate that had, not too long ago, held bread and fish. He sighed, and though the sound was tired it was also content. Yuugi imagined it must feel good to be able to eat a hot meal, even without wine, after five weeks of things like broth and cut-up plums and almost no bread at all.

He heard footsteps.

"I heard you were about and making trouble."

Yuugi cringed. He supposed he owed a lot to Set - like having a place to sleep, and probably a fair amount of Atem's recovery, too - but he didn't think he'd ever actually be able to like the priest. Especially after what he'd pulled a few days ago without so much as a by-your-leave.

Atem reached for his milk (which Yuugi had also eyed with something that was not quite approaching genuine lust). He swallowed a generous mouthful before answering.

"If they say so, it must be so."

Set snorted and sat down next to him. Yuugi stood up. Atem was almost ridiculously informal, and invited slaves to sit in his presence when their service was not immediately required. Set wouldn't stand for such a thing.

"We've had word of a caravan from Ophir."

"Friendly?"

"Presumed to be so. Refugees. The story goes that their village was on the edge of the country, was burned by some invading army, and the king dispatched his own troops without providing for those who have nothing now. The troops arrested half a dozen men of the village on a trumped-up charge of treason - supposedly on the king's orders - and the rest of the people scattered with whatever possessions they had left. They're seeking asylum here, if we'll grant it."

"The king of Ophir is an ass with no more brains than this milk."

Yuugi saw the corner of Set's mouth bend and nearly fell over. It was not quite a smile, but close, and in this case, "close" was as good as a full-out belly laugh.

"I have to say I tend to agree with you." A pause. "They may request an audience."

"With you?"

"With you."

"But you could handle it."

"If I knew what your decision would be, yes."

"How many in the caravan?"

Set shook his head and raised his hands. "Somewhere between fifty and two hundred. What I've heard varies."

"The city could take that many."

"Not in a refugee camp, Atem."

Yuugi's eyes widened, and he bit the insides of his cheeks before he could say anything. He knew Set and Atem were close, but Set was nothing if not correct and appropriate at all times, and calling the pharaoh by name in front of a slave could hardly be called correct and appropriate. Atem sighed.

"I don't want to just send them off if we can avoid it. We don't need to start a war over a group of people abandoned by their own leader."

"No more would I, but I don't see how it could be done."

Atem's eyes flickered to Yuugi. "I see ideas in your eyes, little Aibou. Why don't you share them?"

Had Set not been sitting there, Yuugi would have done so without hesitation, but his presence changed everything.

"I'm - it's not my place," he said. He considered tacking a "Great Pharaoh" onto the end, but even after a year the phrase still felt stiff and unnatural on his tongue.

"Well, I say it is. Come on, then, out with it."

Yuugi shuffled. He didn't want to be subject to the tongue-lashing Set would surely lavish on him. Maybe Atem's presence would stem it at least a little.

"Well, maybe - if it's a whole village, they've got tradespeople, right? So ask the people in the city who are tradespeople to take on one or two of them to help with whatever business it is they run - kind of like apprentices, sort of. They'd be able to produce and sell more, and the refugees wouldn't just be sitting helpless in a camp somewhere. They'd be helping the city and taking care of their families instead of just becoming beggars."

He saw Set's lips press together. Here it came. Yuugi steeled himself.

"Which is all well and good - " Yuugi fought to keep his jaw from dropping, and wondered if somebody had been warming Set's bed the night before - "but what exactly do you propose we do with those who farm for a living?"

Atem looked thoughtful. "Sharecropping with the intention of purchase, maybe. Offer a reward to those farmers on the outskirts of the city who offer enough land for a livelihood." He folded his hands beneath his chin and drew his knees up to meet them. "It could work. I really think it could." He paused. "Although how we're supposed to get in touch with all those people in under two days - "

"Make a speech."

Yuugi clapped his hand over his traitor mouth. Some things were just not done even when Set wasn't in the room, and interrupting the pharaoh was one of them. Atem raised an eyebrow, but he looked amused.

"I think someone here is trying for your job, Set."

Set didn't answer immediately. Instead he stared off into one corner of the room.

"That could work."

Yuugi couldn't help it; he gaped. Set shifted and drew his attention back from the positively fascinating ash-pot he seemed to have been studying.

"It could, really," he said. "Half the populace is convinced you're dead or close to it. If you were to speak - " Here he trailed off. The rest of the sentence, Yuugi thought, was genuinely unnecessary. If Atem were to appear in front of his people right now, they would do anything he asked. Take in a few refugees? No problem.

Set stood up, an interesting proposition given that Set was essentially four very long limbs and a body inserted in robes better suited to someone Yuugi's height where locomotion was concerned.

"I'll pass word on to the council." He put a hand on Atem's shoulder. "Take care of yourself."

Atem's mouth quirked. "I doubt Aibou would allow otherwise."

Set made a kind of huffing noise before striding out.

_Well, he's right. Aibou wouldn't,_ Yuugi thought. Atem smiled at him.

"You look confused, little Aibou." Atem patted the ground, Yuugi's signal to sit back down. Yuugi obeyed.

"I'm just trying to figure out who that was, and what they did with the real Set. That was _weird_."

Atem chuckled. "He did seem unusually perky, didn't he?"

"He was _nice_ to me."

"He knows a good idea when he hears it, that's all. He's a hard man, but he's fair."

_Oh yeah? What would you say if I told you that at some point in the future he's going to decide the best way to protect the country is to torture people? To do almost exactly what the king of Ophir is doing?_

Yuugi made a face. Atem shrugged.

"There are magicians about. I suppose there's the possibility that someone appropriated his appearance and locked him in a storage room somewhere."

Yuugi did his best to quell the mental images Atem's statement brought up, but he couldn't help himself. Atem raised his eyebrows as Yuugi laughed.

"It really wasn't that funny, little Aibou."

"Well, but - " Yuugi started laughing again. Finally he waved a hand in front of his face, now very red, and wheezed.

"Okay, maybe not. It's just - if they really wanted to look like him, doesn't that mean they had to steal his clothes, too?"

Atem blinked at him. Yuugi groaned inwardly. He hated having to point people to his humour. Atem's lips moved, silently repeating Yuugi's question. Then he started laughing. He stopped to cough briefly, then continued to laugh. Yuugi could see tears standing in his eyes.

"If such were the case, little Aibou, I'd hesitate before being the one to let him out."

"He'd probably take the Millennium Rod and whack the first person on the other side of the door over the head with it."

"Undoubtedly, if he could retrieve it from the impostor." He paused. "Of course, he might not even have to retrieve it to have something suitable handy for assailing purposes. Set believes firmly in being prepared."

Yuugi decided to change the subject before Atem could find a way to make it too dirty.

"Do you really think it's going to work? About the caravan, I mean?"

Atem smiled. "I think it could. It depends, of course. We need to reach enough willing people, and we need to do it quickly. Normally I'd just leave it to Set, but - " he stopped, shrugged, and shook his head.

"He's not much of a people person."

Yuugi was pretty sure Atem had never heard the phrase, and was somewhat surprised when he nodded.

"He's more the solitary kind, yes. Dealing with large groups of people he doesn't know isn't really his strong point, although he's excellent at keeping an ear open for gossip. It's surprisingly accurate a good deal of the time if you only know how to winnow it out. He makes something of a specialty of it."

"I noticed." Yuugi was not entirely able to keep the derision out of his voice.

Atem pulled himself to his feet. Yuugi followed, slipping his arm around Atem's waist almost automatically.

"You don't like him much, little Aibou."

Yuugi shrugged. He didn't, Atem was right about that, but he had the distinct feeling that saying so outright was probably asking for trouble.

"What is it about him that repels you so much?"

Yuugi bit his lip. The honest answer - _he's going to torture a bunch of people, and he's going to betray you to take the throne_ - would not be a wise one to give.

"He reminds me of this boy from the town where I grew up."

"Not a pleasant boy, I take it."

"He tried to kill me because I beat him in a game."

Atem did not answer. It suddenly occurred to Yuugi that the man he was supporting through the corridors had also tried to kill him, and for reasons even more petty than Kaiba's. He wondered if Atem was thinking the same thing. Atem stopped, irritated, at the bottom of the familiar staircase.

"And now right back to the damned bed, I suppose."

"You can sit up awhile if you want." Yuugi paused. "We could play a game. I still haven't beaten you."

Atem shrugged. Yuugi waited. They made their way up the staircase in silence.

"We may as well."

Yuugi sighed with relief.


	12. The Shift: IV

Heeeey, guys! Just so you know, I've posted some information on this story - glorified author's notes, really - over on my LJ. Just cruise on over to LiveJournal and look me up - TechnicolorNina there as well as here - if you want to read them.

Enjoy!  
Nina

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 12/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 4 635  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **suggestive language**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Set is definitely not himself. Yuugi sticks his foot in his mouth. Atem gets pissed.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for**olesia.love**,who is a kind and patient fact-checker.

* * *

Yuugi became aware he was dreaming when he saw the kitten they were fighting over. For no reason he could explain beyond being part of the secret alchemy of dreams, he knew the kitten wasn't really a kitten at all. Set and Kaiba didn't seem to care. They were on the verge of killing each other, each one absolutely rabid to take possession of the poor little cat. They were also both wearing slaves' waist-wraps instead of their normal clothes, and as such Yuugi was having a difficult time telling them apart, but this seemed far less important than the kitten that was currently trying to hide between Yuugi's feet. Yuugi scratched one of its ears with his finger. It mewed and rubbed its head against his ankle. He picked it up and petted it, let it curl up in his lap and purr.

"You stole my fucking _body!_"

"You let him steal my damn _cat_!" Yuugi giggled as Set fell victim to a well-rounded bitchslap. Yuugi heard a whistle, and a spotlight came up across the arena. He shaded his eyes to get a better look at the referee. Atem - wearing Set's clothes and holding the Millennium Rod - came into focus.

"Penalty for cussing at the cat."

Kaiba let out a string of curses that would have done Jounouchi proud. Atem waited.

"Are you done?"

Set tackled Kaiba from behind before he could answer. Kaiba was clearly unprepared for such a wholehearted assault, and he stumbled as Set's weight hit his back. The pair of them toppled over, the same expression of shock on their identical faces. The whistle blew again.

"No attacking from ambush! Set, you should know better." Atem strode into the arena and hit Set with the Rod. Yuugi started laughing as Set tried to grab the Rod to pull it away. He and Atem engaged in a short tug-of-war that ended with Atem falling squarely on his behind when Set let go. The Rod fell out of his hands. Set caught it on the fly and began assailing Kaiba with it. Yuugi wasn't sure who to cheer for; what was the cheering policy when the best possible outcome would be for the pair of them to literally kill each other?

The kitten stood up in his lap and began to mew again. It sounded almost like it was laughing. Yuugi picked it up and cuddled it. It promptly put one paw on either side of his neck and tucked its head beneath his chin, purring.

"Give me that!"

Yuugi's attention was jerked back to the arena, where Atem and one of the brown-haired opponents - Yuugi wasn't sure which - were now rolling over and over, fighting over the Rod. Atem landed on top, breathless, and reached for the Rod still clenched tightly in the other's hand. The twin not pinned between Atem's knees beat him to it, and pointed the Rod at Atem's chest.

"I'll give it back when you hand over the cat."

"He's not yours. You have to find your own." Atem seemed to have forgotten he wasn't supposed to be part of the fight.

Yuugi looked down at the kitten trying to burrow into his breastbone. "You must be an awfully special cat, you know that?"

"Mrrrrrrrrl?"

"Look at them. They're acting like total dummies so they can get their hands on you." Yuugi scratched the kitten behind the ears.

"Mrrrrrl." It nuzzled against his hand and began to purr again. Yuugi held it up in front of his face, where it licked his nose. The kitten had a string of wooden beads tied around its neck. A long, slim hand slipped past the side of Yuugi's face and scooped the kitten gently out of his hands.

"Why don't you come with me, little one?"

The voice was a feminine one, light and melodic. The kitten mewed happily.

Yuugi swiveled around quickly. He could see a woman in the back of the arena, and wondered how she'd gotten there so quickly. The arena was small, yes, but she shouldn't have been able to reach the back in only a second. Behind him he could hear Atem and the two incarnations of Set's ba getting to their feet. Yuugi wasn't sure what was going on, but he thought the others in his dream might agree with him that this was no time for games. Something very important was happening.

The woman in the back of the arena looked like no woman Yuugi had ever seen in Egypt. Her hair was bound tightly in a braid that fell well past her waist. Her skin was not dark, and her hands were smooth. She did not carry herself like a slave.

The kitten curled up in her arms, nuzzled against the crook of her elbow, and purred loudly. Yuugi wished it didn't have to go. He wasn't much of a cat person - had, in fact, spent years begging Jii-chan for one of the many labrador-retriever mixes that showed up at the local pound on a regular basis - but there was something about the kitten (that wasn't really a kitten at all, if he could only be sure where he'd seen it before) that made him want to keep it. The woman smiled at him, and then she spoke again - except she wasn't talking, not really. Her mouth never moved.

_You'll take care of him, won't you? I would, but it's not me he needs now._ The woman turned toward the door. Her path took her behind a wide column, and Yuugi lost sight of her.

_Take care of who? Hey! Who are you talking about?_

Yuugi waited for a response. There was none. He hurried up the aisle and looked behind the column.

The woman was gone.

Yuugi turned around - had she somehow, quietly, cleverly, gotten behind him?

Set and Kaiba were also gone, but the woman was standing behind Atem, her hands on his shoulders. He was sitting on a bench holding a small bundle. Next to him was a large-eyed little girl, holding the kitten. The woman leaned forward and took the bundle out of Atem's arms. The little girl hopped off the bench.

_He needs one among you now._

Yuugi's eyes widened as the woman tucked the bundle carefully into the crook of her elbow and reached for the little girl's hand.

_Hey! Hey, who are you?_

The woman's lips moved, but by then Yuugi was well on his way to waking, and he couldn't be sure of her name.

* * *

Atem was already awake, dressed, and sitting at his table when Yuugi came in, and Madu was already gone. Atem was leaning forward, peering into the mirror.

"Good morning."

Atem raised a hand in greeting, then went back to the mirror. Yuugi thought he might be trying to line his eyes. It wasn't going very well; Atem swore under his breath as his hand slipped, the stick of kohl coming dangerously close to poking him in the eye. Yuugi made his way quickly to the table. Atem might be able to apply his own kohl - his hands no longer shook when he used them - but he was getting frustrated, and that would only make things worse. Yuugi put his hands on Atem's shoulders.

"Hey, stop. Before we need a Millennium Eye for you, too."

Atem leaned back against Yuugi's legs and stomach with a sigh and put down the stick. "It shouldn't be this hard."

Yuugi brushed Atem's fringe off his face. "You haven't done it in awhile. Just slow down and let your brain remember how." He reached up and pushed his own curls back; somehow they seemed much more visible now that they were black instead of blonde, and they were constantly getting in his line of sight and annoying him.

"People are going to think I've gone blind."

"Why do you need to put it on, anyway?"

"If you expect me to go out in public without it, then perhaps it's you who's insane."

Right. There was a speech Atem had to give. "Oh. Yeah. I kind of forgot about that."

Atem leaned forward and cleaned off the crooked, uneven line of kohl beneath his eye before picking up the stick to try again. His success was limited, the line wobbling just below his pupil. He slammed the stick back on the table and covered his face with his hands. Yuugi could hear him breathing deep, trying to control his frustration. Yuugi bit his lip. Then he reached out, put a hand on Atem's shoulder, and rubbed it. Atem's shoulders slowly relaxed, and he let his hands drop away from his face. Yuugi watched him rub the line away yet again. Atem reached for the stick. Yuugi saw Atem's brows knit together in the mirror when his fingers touched only the tabletop.

"Here, turn around." Yuugi expected Atem to argue, or maybe bitch at him for trying to order him around, but he didn't. Instead he swung his legs around the bench and looked at Yuugi expectantly.

"Can you - kind of tilt your face up?"

Atem did. Yuugi paused for only a moment to think of how strange it was that Atem should trust him so completely without question. Then he bent to his task, pulling the skin taut gently at the corner of Atem's eye just as he'd seen every morning for so many months and letting the stick glide beneath. He repeated the process on the other eye, rubbed a smudge out carefully with his thumb, and then leaned over to put the stick back on the table and take the mirror. He could feel Atem's newly-lined eyes watching him. He put the mirror in Atem's hands.

"Good enough?"

Atem peered closely at his reflection, cleaned off a small black kohl-flake that had landed directly on his cheekbone, and then nodded. He gave the mirror back to Yuugi, who felt the brush of Atem's fingers and had to bite back a smile. The mirror was not large, but there was absolutely no reason for that casual touch unless Atem spread his fingers all across the back.

_You're the most powerful man for five hundred miles or so, and you're shy. How cute._ It was nice to know he wasn't the only awkward one.

Atem swiveled back to the table while Yuugi put the mirror back where it belonged. Atem began the laborious process of pinning and clasping, readying himself for public display.

"Do people in your land believe in the power of dreams, little Aibou?"

The question, coming as it did from nowhere, caught Yuugi off-guard.

"Huh?"

"Dreams," Atem repeated. "They can foretell many things, if only one can interpret. Do your people believe so?"

"Some don't. Some do. I'm not really sure what I believe," Yuugi said, trying to be as honest as possible. "I mean, I've never really had the kind of dreams that could actually happen. Maybe other people have dreams that mean stuff."

"Perhaps you'd be good enough to tell me what you think of what I dreamt last night."

"Sure."

"I dreamt that I rode to the edge of the Nile," Atem said, and slid the crown into place. "I saw Merishu there, and he was on a raft of a kind I'd never seen. I tried to pull him back as it started to move, but he shook his head and pointed across the river. I could see our father there with many people, waiting. The raft disappeared with him into the mist, and I woke. I think perhaps it may signify his passage through judgment, but maybe . . . it could only be that my heart wishes so."

Yuugi's eyes widened.

_He needs one among you now._

One among the living, maybe?

_She was Akana._

"What did you say?"

Yuugi felt Atem's grip on his wrist, tight and hard. He hadn't meant to say it aloud, but now the damage was done.

"I had a dream last night, too. I didn't think - I mean, it didn't make any sense. But - "

"Tell me."

"Well, when it started it was really stupid. I don't think the beginning meant much of anything."

"Tell me anyway."

So Yuugi did, beginning with Set and Kaiba and Atem in priest's dress, and the kitten that had taken shelter between Yuugi's feet. He tried to remember everything, if only for Atem's peace of mind.

"And then I was holding it up so I could actually see it without looking down, you know, and it had a string of beads tied around its neck. Wood ones. And then someone took it out of my hands, and when I turned around there was this woman standing at the back of the room and she was holding it."

"What did she look like?"

Yuugi described her as best he could remember - the eyes so dark they were nearly black, the pale skin, the unusually long braid. Then he bit his lip.

"She was - she was your wife, wasn't she?"

Atem closed his eyes and let out a long and sighing breath.

"Yes."

"And the kitten - I knew it wasn't really a kitten. I _knew_ it. It was Merishu's soul, wasn't it? He always reminded me a little bit of a cat."

"I think it may have been. What happened to it?"

Yuugi bit his lip again. The rest of the dream could go two ways: Atem might take comfort from it, or it might hurt him deeply. He hesitated, and then decided there was nothing for it. Out with it, as Atem might have said. He described her disappearance behind the column, the way he'd heard her voice in his head.

"She spoke to you?"

"Well, not exactly. It wasn't really _speaking_."

"But you heard her voice."

"Yeah."

"What did she say?" Atem looked almost hungry for the information. And why not? Yuugi knew the Egyptians had believed the dead could speak in dreams. He found it more than a little creepy that he'd apparently been holding a conversation with Atem's dead queen, but kept that knowledge to himself.

"She asked if I'd take care of - I guess she must have meant you. She just said 'him.'"

The edge of Atem's mouth quirked. It wasn't quite a smile, and Yuugi could understand why not, but it reassured him all the same.

"And what did you tell her?"

"I didn't know who she was talking about," Yuugi admitted. "I just kind of asked her a lot of questions she didn't answer."

Atem picked up a wristband. Yuugi thought again of clockwork dolls.

"If she asks again, you should answer."

"I'll remember that."

"And did you wake then?"

Yuugi shook his head, then remembed Atem was facing the wrong direction to see him.

"No. She kind of - you know how sometimes people move in your dreams without really moving? I turned around to see if she got behind me somehow, and she was standing there with you and this little girl and - I think it might have been a baby."

Yuugi heard the long sigh again. One toddler Idut and baby Amisi - confirmed. Yuugi sped through the rest, thinking of those little adhesive bandages. Thinking about how he'd always pulled them off slowly when he was little, and how Anzu had used what she called the one-two-RIP method. One day she'd yanked a bandage off his leg, and he'd started doing it her way because it didn't hurt as long. Maybe if he talked fast enough he could use the one-two-RIP method on the dream. He told about little Idut holding the kitten, and how carefully Akana had tucked the baby into her arm. He told about asking for her name, and not catching it before he woke up. Atem bowed his head.

_Way to fuck up, genius._

Yuugi put a hand on his shoulder, wanting to do _something_, and was shocked when Atem swiveled around partway and raised his head. There were tears on his face . . . but he was smiling.

"I was never sure if she made it through judgment," Atem admitted. "I thought she must, but I never saw her again. To know they live, and that Merishu is with them . . . " He reached for the hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "I'm glad to know."

Yuugi squeezed back. Atem reached for the last band on the table, the one that went around his neck, and clasped it. He wiped the tears carefully off his face, swung his legs back around the bench yet again, and sighed.

"Good as it feels to be about, I should confess I could live without this part."

"The fancy part?"

"The standing up in front of a few thousand people and talking part. I always feel like they only pretend to listen, and then Set goes out and knocks a few heads together to get things done," Atem admitted.

"I don't think that's true. I mean, you take care of them. They'd have to be pretty stupid to not listen."

Atem shrugged. "You're probably right." He held out his hand for Yuugi to take, and Yuugi tucked his arm over Atem's elbow to escort him out of the room.

* * *

They met Set at the bottom of the staircase. He looked incredibly angry, but Yuugi wasn't surprised. Angry seemed to be Set's natural state of being.

"I wanted to speak with you before you went out. And this is for you," he added, holding up an arm. Yuugi saw a very familiar swatch of dark blue fabric draped over it. Atem wrinkled his nose.

"What _is_ that?"

The look on Set's face could have stopped a clock. "It's mine, and you're going to wear it."

"Aren't you the one who keeps telling me presentation is important?"

The expression on Set's face was one Yuugi recognised from Anzu's parents, most notably her mother. It was the one Yuugi thought of as simply The Look, the one that combined don't-fuck-with-me with because-I-said-so, and it was calculated to cow the recipient into doing whatever had been asked of them. Atem's response was of the kind recognised by teenagers the world over: he sighed, rolled his eyes, and grabbed the swatch of fabric.

"All right, all _right_. Stop looking at me that way." He threw the swatch around his shoulders, flung one end of the dark blue fabric around his neck, and held out his arms to display it. Set rolled his eyes, undraped it, and rewrapped it properly. He took Atem's arm, ignoring Yuugi utterly, and the pair of them made for the kitchens. Yuugi hurried along behind.

"I had more news on the caravan."

"Good?"

"Mixed."

"Let's have it, then."

"Illness, weakness, lack of supplies," Set said, wasting no words as they turned a corner and made for the pantries. "Possibly no more than forty left from the original party, and those left are both weary and grieving."

"I wonder why," Atem answered, and in his voice Yuugi could hear a biting sarcasm worthy of Set at his finest. "They lost their homes, their possessions, a good many of them may have lost family, and they've been scattered to the four winds and the mercy of the gods. I don't see any good reason for them to be upset."

"I only say so because forty might easily turn into thirty or even twenty, given the circumstances. Fewer to support, but doubtless detrimental to whatever morale they may have left."

Atem shrugged. "If it does, then it does. We can only provide a place for them to go, Set. We can't intercede between them and the gods."

"There's more."

"Oh?"

"The king is also upset, because the caravan is making for your palace instead of his."

"You think he'll cause trouble."

"I think he might try. More likely, he'll send some kind of envoy to bring them back. Although that could also cause trouble."

Atem stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to Set. Yuugi nearly ran into them from behind, and when he stopped, the smile on Atem's face frightened him. It was the smile of a shark that had sighted prey.

"Let him."

"This is no time to be causing waves, Atem. We might - "

"Tell me, Set. We're agreed he's a fool. Are we also agreed that he's a coward? Because I've had long dealings with him, and I find it highly unlikely we'd be attacked by whatever small forces he might have to hand."

Set shrugged. Atem left him and went into a pantry. He emerged in a matter of seconds with a pomegranate.

"Do you want something?"

Set shook his head. Atem gauged the fresh slice down the middle of the fruit - put there, Yuugi had no doubt, by the knife that always lay for convenience on one of the shelves - turned it over, brought his knee up, and cracked the rest of the rind open on the bone. Yuugi resisted an urge to roll his eyes. It would have been far easier to just cut it open.

_Show-off,_ he thought, as Atem began picking the seeds out and eating them. Their journey continued. When he'd finished, he handed what remained - eight or nine seeds and the rind - to Yuugi, cast a sideways glance at Set, and slipped something small and thin from beneath the golden cuff he wore on his left wrist. He began chewing it like a piece of gum. Set appeared not to notice. They approached the balcony from which he would speak. Yuugi could hear people, all kinds of them, murmuring and chatting outside. Atem sighed.

"Well, here we go."

Set gave him The Look again and held out his hand, palm up. Atem rolled his eyes, then fished something out of his mouth and put it in Set's hand. Set continued to hold out his hand. Atem let out a heavy sigh and pulled out another something. Yuugi was almost positive it was a bit of reed, chewed into pieces. Atem turned back to the doorway through which he had to go.

"Atem."

Yuugi had heard that tone from Anzu's mother, too - the night she'd tried to leave the house in a miniskirt hidden carefully beneath one of the hippie-style skirts girls were making so popular in America. Yuugi thought of it as the third-eye tone.

"What?" Atem sounded impatient. Set raised his eyebrows and continued holding out his hand. Yuugi was reminded heavily of a chick flick he'd watched with Anzu, some American movie about an F.B.I. agent pretending to be a beauty queen. The look on Atem's face was the same one the agent had worn when she'd been caught sneaking doughnuts back to her room, hidden carefully in the bodice of her dress. Atem pulled another piece from under his tongue. Set closed his fingers over them.

"Thank you." He gestured toward the balcony. Yuugi bit down hard on the insides of his cheeks. Set didn't sound _exactly_ like Anzu's mother - that would have been impossible, given that Set was male - but the resemblance was so, so, so incredibly close. Set turned on him as a loud, excited roar greeted Atem's entrance onto the balcony.

"Don't you have chores to be doing?" he almost hissed, and Yuugi retreated for the kitchens.

* * *

The murmur of voices was Yuugi's only warning. He wanted to scramble to his feet, but his lap was full of straw and a half-woven mat. He'd just have to hope the entering officials would understand.

"Set, put me _down_!"

Yuugi promptly bit his lip to keep from laughing. The image that formed in his head was one of Atem in a woman's wedding dress, complete with frothy white skirt and veil, being carried bridal-style by Set in his usual attire.

"I will not. You fell." They rounded the corner and yes, Atem was indeed being carried in Set's arms just like a bride. Yuugi looked down at the pile of straw in his lap before he could start laughing.

"I said put me _down_. This _instant_, Set!"

Yuugi glanced up, wanting to see what would happen if Set chose to disobey. The droll look on Set's face - one Yuugi had never seen before - did not bode well for the pharaoh. Set shrugged, took two steps forward, and dropped Atem in Yuugi's lap. Yuugi made a noise that sounded distressingly like a squeal and tried to scramble backward. Atem hit the straw and rolled over, coming to a stop with his hands behind him, propping him up.

"You - !"

"You did tell me to put you down, did you not?" Atem glared, and Set raised a single eyebrow. Yuugi had the distinct feeling Atem was being mocked.

"If you find yourself displeased, you may consider specifying a mode of descent next time. I have to report to the council."

And he turned and walked out.

Atem sputtered incoherently. Yuugi couldn't help himself; he started laughing the loud and unrestrained laughter of a happy child, while Atem sat speechless next to him. It was simply too priceless; he wouldn't have missed it for the world. Slightly creepy, yes - Set sounded almost _normal_ - but priceless all the same. At last Yuugi wound down to giggles. Atem turned his glare on Yuugi, and the giggles stopped at once.

"Don't encourage him." Atem sighed and began the painstaking process of picking straw out of his hair. Yuugi shifted under his pile of straw so he could help. "I suppose it might explain why Shemei couldn't find Idut last night."

Yuugi made a face. "I thought she had better taste than that." He shrugged. "I guess we'll know in nine months, right?"

Atem's eyes blazed. "You do Set a grave injustice, slave Aibou. If he were to take an interest in her, he would court her just like any other woman. Don't let me hear you speak so again."

Yuugi looked down at his pile of straw and bit his lip. "I'm sorry."

"You should be. I've told you before - he's a good man, not some common wastrel."

Yuugi nodded without looking up. One of these days his mouth was going to get him in serious trouble. Atem made his feet.

"I'm going to get something to eat."

Yuugi struggled to stand. Atem was at the door - and then outside it, and calling for Madu - before Yuugi could so much as get the straw out of his lap. Yuugi turned slowly back to his half-finished mat. He felt tears on his face, and chastised himself. Sure, he'd opened his mouth and made an ass of himself, but that was no reason to be crying like a girl.

Except that wasn't the source of his upset. Rather, he hated the feeling of having lost Atem's regard simply because he couldn't keep his stupid mouth shut. He wondered if he'd be replaced, or maybe even removed from the picture altogether. He didn't want to be. His situation was a strange one to be sure, but he enjoyed his conversations and time with his king.

_Wait._ My_ king?_

Yuugi paused to consider the thought. Yes, technically, he supposed it was true - he certainly wasn't under the King of Ophir's jurisdiction - but the idea was still an odd one.

He spent the rest of the day making mats, and when he went to bed that night - alone, and in a room that suddenly seemed much less welcoming than usual - he carried the thought down to sleep with him.

_My king. Where did that come from?_


	13. The Politik

HEY!! GUESS WHAT!! I'M NOT DEAD YET!!

Also, I had my first day at my new job. Awesome FTW.

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 13/??  
**Author**: Nina/**technicolornina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 8 664  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **suggestive language**, **ridiculously archaic discussion of homosexuality**, and **some violence**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Set makes a joke. I know, the world is ending! Yuugi apologises. Atem makes a move. Refugees show up.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **my grandpa**, who totally helped me figure out what people should be eating in the feast scene.

* * *

The day - the true day, after dawn - began for Yuugi with a loud shout. He shot to his feet, and then promptly got down on one knee. Atem and Set were headed in his direction, and it was all too clear that Atem was still angry with him. In the two days following Atem's speech Yuugi had been restricted to the kitchen quarter; his duties in regard to Atem had all been shifted to Madu and Idut. Yuugi kept his eyes turned down to the hardpan.

"You're absolutely mad."

"They say so," Atem said to Set, ignoring Yuugi utterly, and Yuugi could hear the thin line of anger still simmering beneath his surface tone of indifference. Yuugi chanced a glance up at their retreating backs. A pair of horses stood outside the stables. Yuugi wondered where exactly Atem planned on going; he wasn't supposed to be outside at all.

_Not that he cares anymore what you want him to do. You blew it, remember?_

Set put a hand on Atem's side to boost him up; though Atem had regained enough strength to do most normal tasks on his own, his balance was still erratic at best. Yuugi felt his cheeks flush. Set might in the future be an incredibly twisted person, but Ankhnadin hadn't corrupted him yet. Now he was still just a close friend of the pharaoh, a man with a realistic but hopeful view of the future who willingly played the straight man to his quixotic king. There was another muffled shout, and the horses began to move. Atem and Set made a short turn, and then disappeared in the direction of a distant part of the palace complex. Maybe they were visiting Mana. It wasn't, Yuugi supposed, entirely out of the question, and Set would be the first to put Atem on a horse or in a litter while his legs were still weak. The realisation made Yuugi blush more than ever. He'd been wrong the whole time, it seemed, and only recognised it once it was too late.

The space of two hours saw their return; Yuugi paid his respects as before. He expected to be ignored, and certainly Atem breezed past him without a single word. It was Set who paid Yuugi notice, casting an odd, almost pitying look in his direction before taking a few brisk strides to catch up with his pissed-off companion. Yuugi sighed. There had to be some way to fix the situation - there _had_ to be - but Yuugi could think of none. His initial idea - to apologise directly to Set - he discarded as absolutely ludicrous. He could only imagine how that conversation would go.

_Hey, I know you weren't around when I said it, but I badmouthed you a couple of days ago and I'm really sorry._

It went beyond ridiculous and into downright stupid. What could it accomplish, beyond making Set angry with him? Apologising to Atem would likewise be useless, because although Yuugi had certainly succeeded marvelously in pissing him off, it wasn't Atem he'd wronged. He'd made the mistake of forgetting in whose company he sat - not just the pharaoh, but Set's closest friend - and it had cost him dearly.

Eventually the shadows turned, grew longer, merged. Yuugi trudged into the kitchen quarter, a heavy pile of mats in his arms. He made for the storage room, now hung with hooks in every direction, in which he needed to deposit his burden.

"- what your problem is with him," Yuugi heard Set say, and stopped outside the room where, hopefully, the occupants would be unable to see his shadow. He wanted to know who was in the room before he went tramping into it. "You're up, you're walking, you're very nearly well."

"My problem is his complete lack of respect," Yuugi heard Atem's voice say, and he cringed. Completing his duties now would be something like walking into a cage of hungry tigers while covered in raw steaks. "He completely disregarded your position, he has no sense of propriety whatsoever - what on _earth_ are you doing?"

"My apologies. It's only just that I thought I heard the sound of the dust accusing the ashes of filth, and I wanted to be sure I wasn't deluded."

There was a pause, and Yuugi could easily imagine the dirty look Set was currently being given.

"You know what I mean, Set. I don't know who he is or where he came from, but I swear before all the gods he thinks he belongs on the throne himself."

Yuugi slipped into the room before the conversation could continue. He paid his respects as best he could with his arms full of mats, and then slunk to the back of the room. He hung each mat carefully on a series of hooks so the reeds could dry, and then slipped back out before he could be questioned. The process would have to be repeated several times; it had taken Yuugi only half a day to get the hang of the woven pattern used for both straw sleeping mats and the colourful painted reed matting that hung on the walls. Once he'd picked up the pattern he'd quickly learned how to put the mats together at a great speed, and his day had been nothing if not productive. He'd started in sometime around midmorning, after the kitchen tasks were completed, and hadn't stopped until dark. He filled his arms again from the large pile he'd left by the ovens and made his way back to the room with the hooks. He paused outside the room again. If either of them caught him his life wouldn't be worth the floor beneath his feet, but he wanted to know just how angry Atem might still be.

" - get you up and about again, I would have given him reason to criticise me long ago. Don't give me that look. You know it's true."

"He's completely out of line, Set."

"What do I care for his being out of line? You seem to think his opinion should matter as much to me as it apparently does to you, and I will repeat to you what I have been telling you for weeks now. He's your slave, your responsibility, and as long as he's not murdering you or trying to start an uprising, I don't give a damn what he says or does."

"Well, I do."

"Then dispose of him."

"I don't want to dispose of him. If he could learn to keep his mouth shut on matters he doesn't understand - "

"Then by all means sew it closed and have done with it," Set said, and it was clear from his tone that he was tired of the subject. "Sooner or later you have to realise that being angry over human faults isn't going to get you anywhere. Have him whipped next time if it bothers you so much."

Atem was silent. Yuugi counted to twelve, then heaved his second load of mats into the room, hoping his slightly exaggerated breathing would be taken for difficulty in hauling a dozen heavy mats around by himself. Set ate the last of the meat on his plate - Yuugi thought it might be either goose or pigeon - and pulled himself to his feet.

"I have work to do before I retire. If you'd be so good as to join us for a few hours in the morning tomorrow, we're supposed to receive the caravan."

Yuugi paused in the middle of hooking a mat. He was getting around to realising that a surprising amount of the time, the most ridiculous course of action was the one he ended up taking.

"Um - excuse me."

He felt two pairs of eyes boring into him and dropped his own eyes to the ground. He couldn't remember Set's official title, and so he simply forged ahead, hoping he wasn't in the process of getting himself killed.

"Um - I - I kind of said something about you the other day - that I shouldn't have. And I'm sorry." He kept his eyes firmly on his feet. There was a pause, and then the soft shuffle of leather, dying away down the corridor - Set's shoes. Yuugi waited for Atem to say something - anything - to indicate he was free to go back to his task. Instead he heard more quiet sounds, saw the waver of a shadow, and before long Atem's feet appeared in his window of vision.

"I take it someone I couldn't hear gave you permission to speak."

Yuugi bit his lip. He'd known it was a bad idea. He'd _known_ it. Atem's hand pulled his chin up none too gently, and Yuugi could see anger still burning in his eyes.

"You seem to think, slave Aibou, that just because you spent time being privileged you run this palace. You've been given much too free a rein, and it's far past time you learned your place."

Yuugi felt blood well against his lip as the chapped, overstressed skin broke open at last. He sucked his lip into his mouth, trying to soothe the burning sensation. Atem continued to rail as though he hadn't noticed a thing. Maybe he hadn't.

"You have no business addressing a member of the court without being addressed yourself first, and even if you had, there's absolutely no excuse for disregarding their place and title."

Yuugi let his lip slide out of his mouth. The air touched it and burned.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

He saw Atem's lips thin, and then saw his arm swing up and back. Then he flinched, a reflex born of a lifetime of bullies and fear and unchangeable no matter the circumstances. He shut his eyes against the coming blow, and so missed the look of sorrow that crossed Atem's face. When no slap or full-armed swing hit his face, Yuugi opened his eyes cautiously.

The room was empty.

"Aibou."

Yuugi jumped when Idut's hand descended on his shoulder, but did not drop the stack of bowls in his hands. _Score._

"Did I startle you?"

Yuugi shook his head. "No. It's fine."

"The pharaoh wants you."

"Where is he?"

"His room."

Yuugi groaned inwardly. He had no doubt the lecture would continue now - if lectures were what Atem had in mind. He had the distinct and sinking feeling they might not be. Still, a summons was a summons, and he paused only long enough to put the bowls away before starting down the corridor.

He found Atem sitting on the bed, legs crossed, playing a solitaire version of senet. Yuugi stood just inside the doorway, his eyes not quite exactly on the bed. Eventually he heard a loud sigh and the shuffle of feet - probably Atem putting the board and pieces back where they belonged.

"Have you become a door, slave Aibou?"

Yuugi jumped and shuffled a few feet farther into the room. He glanced up through his eyelashes and saw Atem sitting on the bed. When Atem offered him the cursory nod that usually indicated a slave could sit, Yuugi sat down gingerly on the floor, legs tucked beneath him. He heard another heavy sigh.

"I've committed as much a wrong today as you have, little Aibou," Yuugi heard. Maybe he was hallucinating.

"I - what?"

Atem brushed his fringe out of his eyes. "'If you are a man of power, gain respect through knowledge and gentleness of speech. Do not be high-hearted, lest you be humbled.' So I was taught as a child. Lately I seem to forget those teachings a good deal more than I should."

Yuugi shrugged and looked down at his knees. "It's my fault."

"You were wrong for speaking out of turn, yes. But Set reminded me today that I chose to make you my responsibility from the moment you set foot in this palace, and it should have been my duty to provide for your instruction in what we consider correct. I failed in that duty, and therefore the fault rests with me."

Yuugi shook his head. "We have a teaching where I'm from, too, and I didn't pay any attention to it. Even though I should have."

"What teaching is this?"

"'Do to others as you'd have others do to you.' We call it the Golden Rule."

He saw a flicker of a smile on Atem's face. "It's a good teaching." The smile faded. The expression remaining was tired and sad. Yuugi climbed onto the bed and put his arms around Atem's shoulders. Atem raised a single hand to rest on Yuugi's arm. Yuugi rested his head on Atem's shoulder. After a short time he felt a hand tangle gently in his curls, fingers scratching gently at his head. Yuugi closed his eyes in bliss. Atem had a way of finding just exactly the absolute perfect spot to pet, and then concentrating on it.

"Stay here tonight."

Yuugi nodded against Atem's shoulder. Some sly part of his brain tried to bring up what had happened the last time he'd stayed the night in Atem's room. Yuugi forced it angrily back into the prison of his deepest subconscious, where it belonged. Guilt was done, at least for now.

"Can I - can I ask you something?" It might be a bad question to ask, but he was genuinely curious.

"You may."

"It's about Set."

"Mmm?"

"Well - you said once that I didn't like him. And - it's true. He really creeps me out sometimes. Not that he's a bad person, or anything," Yuugi hastened to add. "I think it's just the way he _stares_ at me sometimes that makes him seem so weird. But I can tell you do like him, and I just - "

"You wondered why."

Yuugi felt his face flush. "Well - yeah."

Atem lay back, his arms behind his head. Yuugi pulled his legs up onto the bed and drew them to his chest.

"I have a few memories of the palace before Set came here and joined us, but not many. I distinctly remember still being carried around in Shemei's arms when I first saw him. It's fair to say I grew up with him - certainly we went to lessons together, when we were younger, and we shared a room for several years when we were children." Atem raised his head. "I think the question you intended to ask, little Aibou, was not why I enjoy his company, but why I consider him a friend instead of a close associate."

Yuugi shrugged. "Probably. I didn't know there was a difference."

"A very distinct one."

"Okay, then why? Why _is_ he your friend? I mean, no offense to Set or anything, but he's nothing like you. Well - almost nothing like you," Yuugi amended, remembering the game of checkers Atem and Set had played. Atem opened his eyes, pulled his legs into the middle of the bed, and mimicked Yuugi, legs pulled up to his chest.

"The answer, little Aibou . . . is . . . not entirely easy to explain."

Yuugi could hear the uncertainty and hesitation in Atem's voice even without the pauses; he wasn't entirely sure this was a place he wanted to go.

"You know about my wife - I imagine Shemei told you about her, and you said she spoke to you."

Yuugi nodded, although he had very little idea what Akana had to do with Set. Atem closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he seemed to be looking not at Yuugi but straight through and past him.

"We were very good friends," he said, and Yuugi could hear the lingering echoes of pain and grief in Atem's voice. "I would be taking credit I hardly deserve if I said I ever loved her as a husband does a wife, but I was good to her, I think. And she was the best of wives - she never failed to support me." He brushed his fringe out of his eyes again. "When she died . . . when all of them died . . . " He paused, swallowed hard, and Yuugi had the distinct feeling this was part of the story nobody had ever heard. The part Atem had consciously chosen to never talk about, or maybe to glaze over with pretty talk that added up to a whole lot of nothing. "Nobody could understand why I chose not to marry again. Set supported me before and through and after that time, even when our opinions differed, and he was the first to recognise and accept . . . even if he didn't approve . . . that I'm not like other men."

"Because you like men instead of women."

"Yes." Atem paused. "I expected him to leave the palace. Things out of the ordinary make him uncomfortable. But he stayed, and in spite of what he knows - which is a good deal more than most - he's never treated me differently from any other man."

Yuugi supposed he could understand that. Being different was hard - especially such a difference as Atem's in such a time as this - and having the support of a friend, even a generally antisocial friend with a bad temper, could mean a lot. And yes, it was true - this probably _was_ the part Atem didn't talk about. He might be free with his affairs in the seclusion of the palace, but Yuugi could just imagine the reaction of the general population if they found out their beloved king was more likely to be swayed by masculine wiles than feminine ones. One assassinated pharaoh with a side order of general discord and confusion, coming right up. Yuugi decided he should probably change the subject before he could say something else stupid and ruffle Atem's feathers again.

"Are you going to the throne room tomorrow?"

Atem's face returned to the strained, sad expression Yuugi had seen on it earlier.

"I probably should."

"Do you - do you want me to go with you?"

"What I want is to end this heavy talk for the night. There are better subjects to sleep on."

"Sorry."

Atem shrugged. "Perhaps you'd be good enough to tell me what happened to your group of dwarfs now."

Yuugi let out a surprised, incredulous laugh. Atem had startled it right out of him. "_That?_ I don't even remember where I left off!"

"On the far side of the Misty Mountains, when Bilbo slipped past the dwarf guard and woke the camp."

Yuugi couldn't believe it. After a good three weeks, Atem still remembered - and he was still interested. For someone with what Anzu would have called "the attention span of a brain-damaged gnat," this was no mean feat.

"Um, okay. So when Bilbo roused the dwarfs, they were all really shocked because they thought for sure he was roasting on a spit and being turned into orc-chow somewhere in the mountain. Bilbo was still really upset over the loss of his buttons, but now that there was no decision to be made on whether to go back for the burglar, Thorin got the entire group up and packed and on their way," Yuugi began, hoping to find the thread he'd started to weave all those long days before. He told briefly of the trek across the plains, and the meeting with the great bear-man whose name he couldn't remember (he subsitituted Jii-chan's given name instead). He took them into the dark, dreary woods he was pretty sure had been called the Forest of Forgetfulness, and then he stopped.

"Um - do you know what a forest is?"

Atem shook his head. Yuugi pounded his foot against the wooden side of the bed in frustration. Then he stopped to consider. Atem hadn't had the slightest idea what hobbits or orcs or elves were, either, and Yuugi had explained them without the slightest difficulty. Was it only because he'd never had to describe a forest - because people in his time took forests for granted, and everyone knew what a forest was - that the idea was so intimidating? Certainly Atem wasn't stupid, and he had a perfectly good imagination of his own. If Yuugi could cobble together a decent explanation of a forest - though necessarily more descriptive than Tolkien's, it was true - he thought Atem could fill in the blanks for himself with no trouble at all.

"Well, it's - a forest is a lot of trees, only very, very, very tall, and growing wild all over in a tangle instead of in rows," he said. "The trees in the Forest of Forgetfulness were so tall that if ten men stood one on the shoulders of the other they wouldn't be able to touch the tops. And then the trees were very close together," Yuugi continued, slowly moving from description and back into story with almost no transition at all, "so close that no light could come down between the leaves, and if it did, there wasn't much of it by the time it got to Bilbo and the dwarfs. So the plants that were growing on the forest floor weren't many, and the few that managed to survive were really twisted and stunted and ugly, and lots of them had thorns, and some of them had dark, sour-looking fruit. Thorin told the rest of the group to beware, because the fruit of those plants might be poisonous, and Suguroku had told them on no account to eat what they found growing beneath the trees, and especially to not touch any water they found, because they'd be better off to die of thirst than to curse themselves with the water that flowed through the Forest of Forgetfulness."

Atem followed Yuugi closely through the battle with the giant spiders, and then through the disappearing party of wood-folk and the capture of Bilbo and his group, and then Yuugi could see Atem struggling to stay awake even as Yuugi began to describe the king's feast in more detail than was strictly necessary.

"So while the king and his courtiers were eating their great feast above, with roast goose and plums and berries and the sweet, good wine of the town on Long Lake, Bilbo . . . do you want me finish this tomorrow?"

Atem nodded. "You tell a good story, little Aibou, but . . . "

"You're tired, I understand. Remind me tomorrow that everybody's in the prisons below the wood-king's palace if I forget, okay?" There was something soothing about telling the story - even though the words were his own, not those of the actual book, it was a link back to Domino, a comforting make-believe world he'd wrapped himself in as a child and still continued to love.

Atem nodded again. Yuugi slipped out of his wrap and under the covers. Atem's arm settled around his waist, pulled him close, and cuddled him.

_And I'm right back to being a teddy bear. Great._ But far from being irritated, the thought was almost amused, and it didn't take Yuugi long to smile when he realised Atem was suffering from incredible mood swings again - first furious, then ridiculously penitent, sad, and back to being his usual unpredictable, half-amused self, all in the space of about four hours.

_I guess that means he really is almost healthy again. One seriously bipolar pharaoh, in the flesh and at your service, Ophirites._

He was nearly sleeping - or perhaps "almost still awake" might have described his state of mind better - when he felt Atem move behind him, and a soft pressure against his shoulder that could only be a kiss. He tried to reach up to catch Atem's hair in his fingers - _hey there, I caught you_ - but his arms wouldn't cooperate, and so he was sure - or nearly so - that he was probably just dreaming.

Yuugi woke early to a thump and a muffled curse. He opened one eye and saw Atem rubbing his shin, casting furtive glances at the bed as though to see if he'd woken the slave in residence there. Yuugi sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"I woke you."

"S'okay," Yuugi mumbled. His brain was having a hard time waking up; he'd been having a dream about walking through the Forest of Forgetfulness and jumping over the river that would lull him to sleep forever if he drank so much as a drop, and for a few seconds he could still feel the dirt path beneath his feet. The sensation was nothing new. As a child Yuugi had never been satisfied with the long descriptions of battles and short descriptions of everything else in this very-best, most-favorite-ever story, and so sometimes he would make up his own version to lull himself asleep. Almost always without fail he would then find himself dreaming that he was standing alongside Bilbo or Frodo or Sam, battling Smaug or meeting Galadriel or watching with fascinated horror as Sméagol screamed "my precious!" and threw himself at the One Ring.

"I dreamt last night of your disappearing feast of wood-folk, little Aibou," Atem said, dipping his kohl stick and running it beneath his eye.

"Funny. Another ten minutes and I probably would have caught up with you."

Atem cast a glance out of the corner of his freshly-lined eye before moving on to the other. "You also dreamt of it?"

"Actually, I was trying to get across the River of Dreams, but yeah."

"And did your passage make you hungry?"

"Not really. Did yours?"

"Exceedingly so."

"I can go get you some pomegranates or something."

Atem's mouth quirked in a smile. "By the time you returned, little Aibou, I'd be ready to join you."

Yuugi shrugged, found his wrap on the floor - just plain linen, no need for oven-cleaners and dish-washers to wear fancy cotton - and tied it. Atem cast a glance in his direction.

"You'll need different clothes. I want you with me today."

Yuugi nodded.

"Do you want me meet you downstairs, then?"

"It might be wise. Set didn't tell me if the caravan was expected early or late."

"Okay."

Yuugi slipped out the door and made for the room Set had pointed him to all those weeks before. In it he'd finally gotten around to storing his few possessions: the cotton wrap intended for throne-room duty, a small clay animal one of the palace children had played with and left forgotten, the robe intended for brief wear in Atem's room. He pulled off the linen wrap, folded it, set it on top of the robe, and tied the cotton wrap in its place. He stopped, considered the few personal effects lying in neat order near the bed, pulled the annoying, curly black fringe out of his eyes, and pinned it off to one side with a plain reed clip Shemei had found for him only the gods knew where. He combed the rest of his hair with his fingers, still not entirely sure how it remained in perfect little snail-shell curls in spite of the humidity and lack of hair conditioner, but by no means complaining. In the absence of an iron and styling mousse, he would take the curls. At least they were obliging by staying low-maintenance. Yuugi finished his half-hearted attempt at untangling a mess that really should have been shaved months ago and slipped back out of the room. He ran into Atem in the corridor.

"What are you doing down here?"

It wasn't until that moment that Yuugi realised Atem thought he was still sleeping in the slave quarter. Yuugi blushed.

"Um - when you got sick I found out someone else was sleeping where I used to sleep - with everyone else. Set put me down there." He pointed back toward the room. Atem made a noise somewhere halfway between a snort of laughter and an irritated grunt.

"Never tell me the man has no sense of humour," he murmured, striding down the corridor. Yuugi hurried to keep up.

In spite of the early hour the slave quarter was already busy; Shemei and Idut were supervising a dozen women who were cooking meat and preparing cut fruit. Yuugi wondered who'd ordered their early labour. Atem paid them barely any attention at all; he greeted them in his usual cheerfully careless manner, and then made for the pantry. He returned shortly with a small tray containing three loaves of bread, a few pomegranates, and a canteloupe. He beckoned to Yuugi, who followed him willingly into a storeroom. Atem set down the tray, pulled a dried reed mat from a small stack, and set it on the floor. Yuugi helped him unload the tray, and the pair of them sat to eat.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Yuugi made for his feet, mouth still full of canteloupe, and Atem laid a hand on his arm before waving Set to the odd loaf of bread. Set glanced between Atem and Yuugi several times and raised his eyebrows. Atem offered an all but invisible, one-shouldered shrug. Yuugi ignored the short, completely nonverbal conversation that followed. He'd seen Anzu's parents do the same thing, and knew perfectly well he'd be able to understand it no more than he could read Greek. At last Set sat down at one side of the mat and reached for the third loaf of bread. Atem began picking the seeds out of a pomegranate.

"More news?"

"The caravan got in last night. I've already been out."

"And?"

"A sorrier group I've never seen. Perfectly safe, but all half-starved, and two of the old folk delirious from lack of drink. It's a miracle there are any children or elderly left at all."

"You had them provided for, of course."

"Naturally. Nothing hot available at that hour, but more than enough bread and beer for all."

"And we'll see them this morning?"

"In two hours."

"Excellent." Atem turned his attention to Yuugi. "Aibou, you're to work with Madu this morning."

Yuugi nodded, and then jerked his head up.

"Um - should I get some beer? I'm sorry. I probably should have asked that already."

"If you'd be so good," Atem answered. Set shook his head and held up a deferring hand, turning his attention to a pomegranate. Yuugi padded quickly back down to the pantries and drew two bowls of beer, being careful not to spill them on the way back. He gave one to Atem and then took a sip from his own.

"Sorry."

Atem shrugged. "We can't all think of everything all at once." He finished his bread and attacked a piece of canteloupe. Yuugi picked the last few seeds out of Atem's abandoned pomegranate, ate them, and then cast a glance in Atem's general direction. Atem caught his eye.

"You should probably go, Aibou," he said. "It grows late."

Yuugi nodded, collected his bowl and the abandoned tray, and dropped them off in the kitchens on his way to the throne room. He did not quite run, but his pace was a good deal faster than a walk. He hurried into the throne room, located Madu, and moved to stand next to him.

"Um - the pharaoh said he wants me to work with you today."

Madu nodded. Then he glanced down the room and went to one knee, the top half of his body bent over his leg. Yuugi followed suit. He wasn't at all surprised to hear the happy murmurs among the council, and when he raised his eyes - carefully, so as to not move his head - he saw Atem and Mahado exchanging a brief but heartfelt hug as Set took his accustomed place. Then Atem sat, and Madu stood. Yuugi followed suit.

"A happier sight I've never seen, Great Pharaoh," Isis said, and Atem smiled at her.

"I have," he answered, "but very few, and not for many years." He nodded at the rest of the council, and then his brow furrowed.

"Advisor Ankhnadin. Does something trouble you?"

Yuugi caught sight of Ankhnadin's face, quickly rearranging itself from sullen to subservient, and resisted the strong urge to race across the room, rip the Millennium Eye from the man's head, and reveal the traitor mind behind it. If such a seemingly weird set of actions didn't get him killed, he could at the very least cause a time/space paradox that would be the end of everything. No need to worry about Zorc Necrophades then; Yuugi could destroy everything for him just by ensuring Atem would never be sealed in the Puzzle.

"My apologies, Great Pharaoh. I merely think of our duties today and the great task that lies before us."

Atem nodded, accepting his councillor's statement without question. Yuugi bit down hard on his tongue and felt his fingers clench into tight fists. Atem closed his eyes, sighed, opened them.

"Set tells me we have perhaps an hour and a half before the caravan presents itself. Which of you would be so good as to tell me what the council has decided in my absence?"

Mahado and Siamun stepped forward to report together. Yuugi listened with interest. Several major trading transactions had been reached, bringing gold, amethyst, and spices from Nubia and several kinds of wood from Byblos. Another deal was in the process of being negotiated, this one between Egypt and Sinai. When completed, it would exchange grain for turquoise and precious silver. A man in one of the wealthier districts had reported four of his neighbors for crimes; when it had come to pass that all of the accused were, in fact, innocent, and that the accuser had attempted unfair dealings with all of them in the recent past, the accuser had been brought in and executed. The accused were compensated out of the accuser's estate. The flooding along the Nile had reached the ideal height without surpassing it, and a bountiful crop was expected in the following year. A strange, wandering apparition with white hair had been reported in the desert. An exploratory group of a dozen men had been sent to investigate, and had returned after ten days of finding nothing. A woman on the outskirts of the city had given birth to twins, and her husband had requested that his tax be reassessed because of the sudden, unexpected increase in the size of his family. Shada would be investigating the man's request in two days. And then, of course, there was the caravan from Ophir. Atem listened carefully, asked the questions he needed to ask, and when he was satisfied, he sat back, hands dangling off the ends of the arms of the throne.

They heard the caravan first - a quiet shuffling noise of many feet. Yuugi had seen other caravan presentations, and wondered if Set was misinformed in estimating forty people. Usually the captains of a caravan came with their scribes or select merchants, and Yuugi couldn't imagine a group of only forty people needing to send so many representatives. Then he saw the people in front - two men, followed by a woman carrying a small child - and realised there were no representatives. Atem hadn't spoken figuratively of the caravan presenting itself. Every surviving member of a small destroyed village on the outskirts of the country of Ophir was now kneeling in the throne room of the pharaoh of Egypt. Yuugi tried to do a headcount. If he was correct, the total was forty-two. He might not be - the small child in front, he was sure, was only one of a few - but it was still close.

The woman in front looked around at her fellow villagers before standing up hesitantly and approaching the throne, her child still in her arms. She was shaking. Yuugi felt a stab of sympathy. He had the distinct feeling he knew what would happen next, and he was right. The woman introduced herself in stilted, broken hieratic. She was the wife of one of the arrested men, once a merchant who had routinely traded with the royal court of Egypt. She spoke on behalf of her village, saying that they were well aware their few remaining possessions were poor gifts to offer a king for an audience, and that they had decided as a group to give no insult by even daring to suggest such a thing, but that they hoped the offering of this child -

Atem held his hand up before she could finish.

"You've traveled long and suffered much," he said. "I'd do nothing to add to your grief. You come in good heart and with true spirits. Let that be enough."

The woman's eyes met his, full of questions. Then they filled with tears of relief. She took a single slanted step to the left, and addressed the group behind her in a language Yuugi didn't understand. Their reactions, though, were more than enough for both him and Atem - a clear sense of relief and cautious joy.

And then the talk began.

Yuugi watched the faces with waning interest. He'd expected Atem to keep the whole business short, in the understanding that these were people stricken by exhaustion and illness. Such had been his thought roughly three hours ago, but now it looked like the group could easily be here all day. Part of it, of course, was language barrier - everything had to be said twice, once in hieratic and once in whatever language the Ophirites spoke - but as far as Yuugi could tell, a good deal of it was also a bunch of useless ceremony.

Somewhere near the edge of the group Yuugi could hear a quiet fussing, and a woman trying to hush it. Her attempt was unsuccessful, and the fussing turned into a very unhappy baby making its displeasure clearly known. The woman tried in vain to soothe the crying, all the while sending apologetic, frantic looks in Atem's direction. Yuugi bit his lip. Atem was forever unpredictable, and Yuugi had no idea whatsoever how he'd react. Atem smiled. Yuugi met this development with trepidation - hoping for the best, but hardly expecting it.

"Don't be so, lady," Atem said. "I had two of my own, once. At such an age they'll fuss no matter in whose company they may sit." He twisted around in Yuugi's general direction as the woman from the front of the group translated for her friend.

"Aibou. Take this woman down to the kitchens and tell Shemei we have a hungry babe on our hands."

Yuugi nodded, then added a "Yes, Great Pharaoh" for the benefit of the council before slipping out of his place and moving to the woman's side. The woman from the front quickly translated Atem's directions, and the woman with the baby stood up, still cradling it to her chest and bouncing it lightly. Yuugi led her through the corridors down to the kitchen, where Hebony spotted them and hailed Yuugi. Yuugi quickly explained his dilemma: Shemei was nowhere to be found because she was helping to prepare food, presumably for the adults and older children still upstairs in the throne room, but Yuugi had no experience whatsoever with children any smaller than Merishu. Hebony nodded and waved the two of them - three, counting the baby - into a quiet storeroom before assuring Yuugi she'd take care of it.

Take care of it she did; the space of five minutes found Hebony sitting by the woman's side and engaging her in conversation while the woman squeezed drops of warm milk out of a clean rag and into the baby's mouth. His task completed, Yuugi hurried out of the room and back toward the throne room. He heard Mahado's voice, clear and warm, echoing down the corridor. Ankhnadin's cracked and displeasing tones came back in answer. The pair came into view, and Mahado offered Yuugi a friendly nod.

"Slave Aibou. The pharaoh said we should tell you, if we saw you, that you're to meet him in the banquet hall when you've completed your task."

Yuugi thought now he must understand what a deer felt like when it was caught in the headlights. To have to hold a conversation - a normal conversation - in front of a man he hated more than anything - a man he knew but could not prove to be a traitor - a man who might even now be trying to read his thoughts! Yuugi tried to make his mind blank to everything but the situation at hand.

"Um - I kind of don't know where that is."

Mahado laid a hand on Yuugi's shoulder, then turned him around and pointed.

"Down this corridor, past three other corridors. Then turn right, and pass one corridor - it should be on your right side. The next corridor you see should be on your left. Turn there, and follow it to its end. Do you understand?"

Yuugi nodded. "I think so. Keep going until I've passed three corridors, and turn right into the fourth one. Go past another, turn left down the next one, and follow it all the way to the end. Right?"

"Exactly. Tell the pharaoh, if you have the chance, that Set and Shada agreed to take care of the temporaries. He'll know what you mean."

"Okay."

Yuugi bowed to the pair briefly before setting out to follow Mahado's directions. He found himself in short order inside the crowded banquet hall, and silently blessed whatever gods had decided Atem should be born with hair in full Technicolor. He hurried to Atem's side, bowed, and stood behind Atem's left shoulder.

It was generally accepted that the pharaoh and his officials were never supposed to eat with foreigners, and so of course Atem had plunked himself down in the middle of a group of Ophir villagers. They were unable to communicate except with gestures, but neither Atem nor the majority of the villagers seemed much bothered by the language barrier. On the contrary, as the Ophirite children slowly decided there was nothing really threatening about the outlandish-looking man covered in gold bands from forehead to ankle, they crept closer to the low table at which he sat and tried to squeeze closer to him without looking like they were trying. Atem smiled at a pair, boy and girl, who looked like siblings. The boy hid behind the girl, and Atem turned back to his place. Yuugi could smell food as a group of kitchen slaves began to bring freshly prepared food, and felt grateful for the bread and fruit he'd eaten that morning. He had little doubt he wasn't supposed to be eating.

In spite of the good breakfast he'd eaten less than four hours before, Yuugi couldn't help but be a little jealous of the spread on the tables. Atem and the Ophirites were eating two kinds of meat - mutton and a bird Yuugi thought might be pigeon - along with bread and a selection of fruit and vegetables. He resisted the urge to scoop a couple of olives out of a bowl on the sly; even if he could have sneaked them over Atem's shoulder, he would have ended up swallowing the pits to get rid of them, and he had no desire to choke to death. Instead he watched as the group ate, all of them clearly hard-pressed to not simply swallow everything as quickly as they could. Set hadn't exaggerated when he called them half-starved; Yuugi could see the outlines of more than a few spines and rib cages.

In spite of the unnerving appearance of so many too-thin bodies, he had to swallow hard when he realised the children were drinking milk instead of beer. In Domino, he'd almost never drunk milk unless it was in tea or had chocolate stirred in, and if anyone had ever told him there would come a day when he'd wish he could have a single swallow of plain white milk, he would have laughed at them. No longer. He continued to watch, trying to keep his face neutral while Atem and the villagers ate cucumbers and dates and squash, comforted to think that surely a miniature version of the feast would be had later by the slaves. At long last people began to sit back from their plates. A few of the younger children started chasing each other around the hall, mindless of their parents' calls.

Yuugi watched one of the older girls - he guessed her to be about ten - approach Atem nervously with some small item in her hands. She spoke to him quietly, holding the item out. Atem shrugged and shook his head to indicate he didn't understand. The girl pointed to the woman who'd spoken for the village earlier. Atem waved his hand at her and beckoned her to join him. The girl repeated her request to the woman, who immediately began to scold the girl roundly. Yuugi didn't understand a word of what was being said, but the tone was unmistakeable. Atem shook his head and put a hand on her arm to still her.

"She talks foolish," the woman said, clearly embarrassed. "She wastes your time."

"Such time as I have is as available to a child as to a prince - perhaps more so," Atem answered. "I'd hear what she has to say, if you have the words for it."

"She asks you pray for her father. He's one of the taken. And give you this." She pointed to the item in the girl's hands. It shifted, and Yuugi recognised it as a common rag doll. Atem took it from the girl's hands as though handling diamonds.

"You don't want it?"

"Is gift," the girl said, her voice unsure and heavily accented. Yuugi wondered how hard she'd struggled to learn those two words. Atem nodded solemnly. He looked like someone had handed him a ruby the size of an egg instead of a rag doll Idut could have put together in half a day.

"I'll present your request with pleasure," he said. The woman translated. The little girl threw her arms around Atem's neck in a full-hearted hug. Yuugi wasn't entirely surprised when Atem hugged her back. At last she drew away and ran to join her friends, perhaps in delayed-onset awe that she'd actually hugged a king. Atem watched her go, then turned to Yuugi.

"Take this up to my room. Be careful with it." And he put the doll in Yuugi's hands.

"Okay."

Yuugi examined the doll on his way to Atem's room. It was pretty enough, but truly unremarkable. The linen for the body had been dyed a light brown, a mouth and eyes embroidered on the cloth face. The hair was real, though Yuugi was hard-pressed to say if it were human or horsehair. The only thing he found unusual was the dress, dyed red and yellow with a blue belt. The wrap around the shoulders was green. If these people had had a Christmas, Yuugi would have said the clothes were the kind of thing the little girl would have found under her tree. Perhaps they'd been a birthday present. No matter; his job was to deposit the doll in Atem's room, not to create a historical analysis on it. He walked in, looked around, and, at a loss, propped the doll up on Atem's side of the bed. Atem would be back up here in time enough, and then he could put it where he liked. It was safe enough for the time being. Yuugi retreated, listened carefully to the sounds in the corridors, and headed for the throne room.

Atem sighed and leaned back. His face was tired, but content - terms had been agreed on between the council and the Ophirite villagers, and in a week's time - Atem had provided a respite for them to rest and grow strong after their journey - they would be joining the city as working citizens of Egypt's capital. In the meantime, Set and Shada had organised somewhere for them to stay, and it was with the Ophirites that the pair of them now sat, touching up the finer details on Atem's behalf.

Yuugi climbed onto the bed. Something fell against his leg.

"Oh. Hey. I wasn't sure where you wanted this." He held out the doll. Atem took it and stroked the fine black hair out of the doll's face, then looked around. He sat up and made for a set of shelves in the corner, where he propped the doll up next to a small wooden spinning-top Yuugi knew to have belonged to Merishu. Atem returned to the bed.

"Do you know, little Aibou, I really think the world would be much for the better if every person could proceed with the truths of children instead of learning how to tell the lies of adulthood."

"What do you mean?" Yuugi propped himself up on his elbows and kicked his feet in the air.

"Take the little girl who gave me this. She doesn't think of the perceived danger of approaching me. She simply comes to me and makes her request, and in exchange for such a minor service she offers me her most prized possession with no thought at all. She wishes to ensure her father's safety as far as she can. She considers the doll a fair exchange. Compare such to the bending and shuffling of the princes of other lands, who send meaningless tokens in exchange for part of Egypt's wealth! Really, I'd much rather have dealings with such as she, who trades one beloved for another as opposed to those who offer trifles in exchange for greatness."

Yuugi shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'd be kind of afraid to see the king of Ophir acting like a kid. I mean, I don't know much about him, but he seems more like the type who'd knock a smaller kid in the mud to take their stuff, not like the type who'd be fair with you."

Atem laughed a single-note laugh. "I suppose you have a point." He closed his eyes. "In any case, I'll be going into the city tomorrow. You can come with me if you like."

"You're going - to the city?" Yuugi wasn't sure he liked the idea of Atem being outside, even though at this point he knew keeping him secluded was more a matter of over-cautious paranoia than actual necessity.

"Yes. I have two temples to visit, and I want to get out of here for a little while. The palace air grows stale when one doesn't have the chance to breathe elsewhere."

Yuugi shrugged. "I'll come if you want me to."

"I do."

"Okay."

Atem slipped under the covers. Yuugi followed suit. Atem pulled him close before he had the chance to roll over so they would be lying back to chest. He pressed his forehead against Yuugi's so they were perfectly eye to eye.

"Now. Tell me how your dwarfs escaped the wood-king's prison, and then we sleep."

Yuugi grinned. "Okay, but I should warn you I'm going to have to sing."

Atem raised not just one eyebrow, but both. "Sing?"

"Yes. A song about barrels."

"Barrels."

"Yes."

"This story has a song about _barrels_?"

"Yes." Technically the barrel-song had no tune, but Jii-chan had made one up years ago that Yuugi still remembered - and of course he knew all the words to the Barrel Song. What real _Hobbit_ fan didn't?

"Then sing me your song about barrels, little Aibou."

"Silly, we haven't gotten there yet. Bilbo's still in the prisons, remember?"

"Of course. Then tell me how he goes from the prisons to a song about barrels."

And so Yuugi did.


	14. The God of Chaos

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 14/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 12 893 (yup, you read that right)  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **some violence**, **language**, **homosexuality**, and **angst, yo**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Set panics. Atem panics. Yuugi panics. All for different reasons.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **olesia.love**, **velasa**, and **waichimakkura**, who all talked me over some very rough spots.

FURTHER NOTES: Somewhere near the end of this chapter is a short section dealing with Japanese mythology. I should note that as far as I'm aware, **this is not a real legend**. I used some author's license to create it. Therefore, I would not recommend telling your friends about it as though it's true. (And incidentally, the "Eastern elements" Yuugi mentions are fire, water, earth, wood, and metal.)

* * *

Yuugi woke to the creak of the door and sat up. He had no idea what time it was, but knew it had to be much earlier than usual; the torch on the wall outside the room wasn't lit yet. And Atem was nowhere to be seen, even though the crown and most of his adornments still sat on his table. Yuugi could just see their outlines in the moonlight that came through the high window. Only the God Pyramid was missing.

Yuugi considered the possible consequences of going after him. If Atem had simply gone to answer the call of nature - a call to which even the pharaoh of Egypt was a slave - Yuugi would probably get laughed at. He didn't think anger would be an issue. If Yuugi said he was concerned because he'd never heard Atem get up so early before, Atem would understand, even if he did enjoy a hearty laugh at Yuugi's expense. But if there was a problem, then it was Yuugi's duty to try to keep Atem safe, and he would be failing miserably by just sitting here. At last he made up his mind and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, tying his wrap as he made for the door.

Atem had not gone to the bathroom. The room containing the rudimentary toilet was empty, the door standing just a little bit open. Yuugi hurried down the staircase, listening for something other than the echo of his own feet. At last he heard the soft, almost soundless measured pads that were distinct and unique to Atem's gait. Yuugi followed them until Atem came into sight, wearing nothing but his tunic, sandals, and the God Pyramid. He was carrying a torch and headed deep into a part of the palace Yuugi had never seen. Yuugi wondered if perhaps he was a sleepwalker. It made little sense - what kind of sonambulist put on clothes before going for a nocturnal stroll? - but if Yuugi knew Atem, it would be practically par for the course.

At last Atem stopped, and when he turned to open the door in front of him, he caught sight of Yuugi standing right in the middle of the corridor. His face was a study in confusion.

"Little Aibou. What are you doing here?"

Yuugi blushed. "I . . . I heard you get up," he admitted. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"As well as can be, aside from a touch of insomnia," Atem answered. "But I appreciate your concern."

"Can I - I mean - do you - need anything?"

Atem shook his head. "When sleep is impossible, it's best to turn one's mind to solving the matters that keep you awake. I only came to pray."

Yuugi nodded. "Should I go?" He hoped not - they were somewhere in the very heart of the palace, and Yuugi just knew he'd become hopelessly lost if he had to find his own way back - but if his presence was a bother, then he'd do his best to backtrack to a corridor he knew and go back to Atem's room.

Atem shrugged. "You can stay if you like."

"Then I'll stay in case you need something."

Atem's mouth quirked in a smile. "You're kind, little Aibou."

He pushed open the door, and Yuugi saw a small temple of the kind usually created for those unable to travel far distances to get to cult centres. The statue inside depicted a red-headed man Yuugi had never seen before. If the god had been shown in his animal-headed form Yuugi would almost surely have been able to name him right away, but he was no good at gods with two forms when it came to their human incarnations. Atem slipped out of his sandals before entering the room. Yuugi saw him kneel and then lean forward, forehead to the floor and legs tucked beneath him, before the door swung shut again. Yuugi picked up Atem's sandals and put them carefully one next to the other.

After perhaps half an hour the door opened again, and Atem appeared, moving backward. Yuugi was about to comment on Atem's strange behaviour when he remembered the statue inside the room. Of course - it was sacrilege to turn one's back on a god. The door swung shut, and Atem glanced down before slipping his feet back into his sandals.

"That's all right, then," he commented, and he truly did look happier than he had when he entered the room. "We can't do anything else until sunrise."

Yuugi nodded, and the pair of them set off down the corridor. Yuugi decided it couldn't hurt to ask.

"Um - who was that?"

Atem offered him a short sidelong glance. "What do you mean?"

Yuugi could feel the blood rising in his face again. "I mean - I know who a lot of the gods are. But I didn't recognise him."

"Set."

Yuugi bit the insides of his cheeks as hard as he could to keep from laughing. He should have known - who else would have a household shrine to the most reviled god in the Egyptian pantheon? Yuugi couldn't even remember what Set was supposed to control. He had a vague idea it had something to do with sex, or gardening, or both - or maybe that was Horus. Yuugi had a hard time making his brain work during the dead hours of the night when time was nothing but a word and the world seemed to stop in its orbit. He'd never been much of a night person.

"A gold piece for your thoughts, little Aibou."

Yuugi jumped, then shrugged. "I was just trying to remember what Set controls. I mean, what he's the god of. Or - something like that."

The side of Atem's mouth lifted in a half-smile. "Set is the god of many things, little Aibou, but just now I wished to speak on behalf of a foreigner, and it's to Set that such requests must be made."

"Oh." Yuugi supposed he should have guessed.

"In the morning we'll complete the other half of this task, but now isn't the time."

Yuugi nodded. They turned back into a corridor he knew, and suddenly he was much sleepier than he'd been only minutes before. By the time he was sitting on the edge of the bed the entire world seemed to have taken on the fuzzy liquid texture of not-awake, and by the time Atem nuzzled against the back of his neck before settling down for the night, Yuugi was already fast asleep and dreaming.

* * *

"You're not, and that's final!"

Yuugi sat up and rubbed his eyes. The first rays of sun were shining through the window, and he swung his legs out of bed in a panic when he realised that once again, there was no sign of Atem anywhere in the room. How late he must be!

He stopped short at the top of the staircase when he saw Atem and Set standing at the bottom, arguing as usual. This time the disagreement seemed to stem from Atem's intention of going into the city to visit the temple. Set felt it would be dangerous for Atem in his still somewhat-weakened state to leave the palace complex. Atem said that he felt perfectly fine, thank you very much, and in any case Aibou would be going, too. Yuugi winced when he heard his own name. The last thing he wanted was to become a point of contention between the pair; he could imagine all too well what might happen if he did.

"And do you really think for a single second that one man, no matter how dedicated, could stop a crowd if you fell among the wrong people?"

"I think you worry too much, Set, that's what I think. I also think it grows late, and I want to finish dressing sometime before noon, if it's all the same to you." Atem turned to head back up the staircase and stumbled. Set whirled around and slid one arm firmly around Atem's waist before he could fall. Atem reached down and pulled off his sandal with a distinctly disgusted sound as Set let go.

"Well, that's it for _this_," he said, and Yuugi could see the place where the top of the sandal had pulled away from the bottom.

"Consider it an omen."

"That I'm not supposed to be walking?"

"That you're not supposed to be leaving."

Even from where he stood Yuugi could see Atem rolling his eyes. "I think I have another pair somewhere."

"If you were in the least normal, you'd know so."

Atem shrugged. "Forgive me for not finding it necessary to have footwear for all ten days of the week." He brushed off the one knee that had touched ground. Set shook his head and strode away. Atem made an amused kind of sound and headed back up the staircase. He saw Yuugi standing at the top and smiled.

"Good morning - "

Yuugi didn't understand the next word, but after a small amount of thought and a quick mental dissection, he decided it was probably something along the lines of "sleepyhead." He blushed.

"I'm sorry. I should have - "

"If it eases your mind, I woke only a short time ago." Atem put a hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "For all anyone else knows, I assigned you some task this morning that kept you otherwise occupied."

Yuugi nodded. "I should still probably get going."

Atem shook his head. "Not today. Today you come with me." He grimaced. "I'll be glad to be out. Madu's been fussing about the state of the room. What does he expect after two months? It's not as though anything could be done about it before now, and he certainly didn't take his chance yesterday, so - "

Yuugi tuned Atem out as he got on his knees and began looking for his sandals under the bed. It didn't matter how many times Yuugi kicked them off a good two feet from the bed; somehow they always ended up somewhere beneath it. His hand closed on the back of something that was undeniably some kind of footwear and pulled it out triumphantly.

The sandal was leather, and visibly too small for him.

"Um - Atem?" Yuugi bit his tongue. He wasn't required to call Atem "pharaoh" here, it was true, but nobody had ever given him permission to use Atem's real name. Thankfully, Atem appeared to either not notice or not care as he stopped in mid-rant, fingers still on the clasp of a wristband.

"Mmm?"

"Is this yours?"

Atem's eyes went wide. "Where did you find it?"

"Under the bed."

"See if there's another one."

Yuugi nodded and slipped back under the bedframe, hoping he wouldn't get stuck. It was set uncomfortably low for the comfort of a prospecting slave. He wondered when Madu had last bothered to take care of the world's most notorious small-item graveyard - Yuugi found the second sandal, but only after also encountering a mysterious round wooden tube that rattled when he moved it, a stray senet marker, a fair amount of dust, and a small gold ring. He was relieved to note that in spite of the petite size, it had clearly been made for a man. The idea of finding Akana's jewelry still floating around under Atem's bed was more than a little unnerving. Yuugi pulled the tube, sandal, and senet marker to his chest and slipped the ring onto his little finger to ensure he didn't lose it on his way out. He turned to begin the process of dragging himself out and came face to face with a very angry-looking spider that was easily four inches long. Yuugi yelled, jumped, banged his head soundly on the boards supporting the mattress, and fishtailed rapidly out from underbed. The first thing he saw was Atem, hurrying to his feet and looking alarmed.

"Little Aibou! Are you all right?"

Yuugi scrambled away from the bed crab-style. He had no problem with spiders as a rule - had, in fact, found them fascinating during the brief period between ten years old and the beginnings of puberty. But turning around and unexpectedly finding one - a very large, very angry one - almost within kissing distance was something like the first really big hill on a really fast roller-coaster, only with the fun quotient significantly reduced.

"Spider under there," he gasped. "Huge." He held up his fingers pincer-style to demonstrate its size. Atem frowned as he pulled Yuugi to his feet.

"That shouldn't be."

Yuugi - returned more to his natural equilibrium now that there was a fair amount of space between his body and the angry arachnid's all-too-visible teeth - shrugged. "Maybe it crawled under there while you were sick." He remembered the ring on his hand and slipped it off. "Here, I found this."

Atem took the ring, turned it over, and put it on. It slid easily onto his ring finger.

"Thank you." He raised an eyebrow that Yuugi recognised as playful and genuinely inquisitive rather than demeaning. "Anything else?"

"A couple of things. I think I lost them when I was trying to get away from - " Yuugi slowed his tongue before the word _Spiderzilla_ could jump off it - "that _thing_. I don't think I've ever seen a spider that big in my entire _life_." This was technically not true - Yuugi had seen the tarantulas sold in the Domino pet shop, and they were easily twice the size of the nasty brown thing under the bed. The tarantulas, however, were docile, if not outright friendly, and Yuugi had been perfectly comfortable holding one in his hand. Not so for the unidentified species that had taken up residence in Atem's room.

"I'll make sure Madu knows it's there." Atem began brushing down Yuugi's arms and shoulders. "You're very dusty, little Aibou."

"Don't blame me. Blame the floor under your bed."

Atem laughed. Yuugi located his own sandals - right where he'd left them, for a change - and slipped them on. Atem glanced at Yuugi's feet.

"Did you not find the other sandal, little Aibou?"

"_Damn!_" The word jumped out of Yuugi's mouth in Japanese instead of any form of Egyptian, but even so Atem looked startled. Yuugi clapped a hand over his mouth. Atem started laughing. Yuugi lowered his hand slowly.

"Sorry. It's just - it's still under there."

Atem nodded. Then he glanced around and grabbed a long stick out of a corner.

"You might want something to hit with, little Aibou."

"You're out of your mind!"

"So they say," Atem agreed, as usual. He got down on his knees and peered under the bed while Yuugi climbed on top of the mattress, the better to be out of Atem's way. "I see it." He poked the stick under the bed and began fishing with it. Yuugi pulled off one of his own sandals in case the spider decided to come out. The wayward sandal appeared at last, the spider now _sitting on top of it_. Atem eyed it, then poked at it with the end of the stick to knock it off. The spider fell, then reared back on its hind legs. Yuugi shouted and slapped at it with his own sandal. There was a disgusting _squish_ noise of the variety made only when some kind of large insect had just been introduced to sudden death, and Yuugi picked up the sandal hesitantly. He saw the mess underneath and shuddered. Atem raised his eyebrows as he got to his feet.

"Ugly thing, isn't it?"

"I can't believe we were _sleeping_ with that thing under there."

Atem shrugged. "It's dead now," he said, as though that helped. Yuugi moved to slide back off the bed and slipped.

_Ohgod I'm landing in spider guts!_

Yuugi twisted in midair and landed against something warm and solid. He threw his arms around it instinctively and heard a grunt of surprise. He looked up and realised it was Atem he was clinging to. Atem brushed Yuugi's hair out of his eyes.

"That was quite the dismount, little Aibou."

Yuugi felt his face flush. Atem chuckled, and then Yuugi realised he still hadn't let go. He pulled away and slipped his sandal back on, resolutely not looking at Atem.

_I really have to stop doing stuff like that. He's going to think I'm in love with him or something._

_So you're not?_

Yuugi stopped mid-move in the process of picking up his folded robe. It was the first time he'd ever heard a second Yuugi in his head - or rather, the first time he'd ever heard a second Yuugi who really _was_ a second Yuugi. The first Yuugi, the one he always thought of as Yuugi Now, had articulated the thought. The second Yuugi - who sounded something like what he supposed he could call Fantasy Yuugi, the imaginary Yuugi in his head who always managed to be someone's handsome knight in shining armour instead of the childishly cute, slightly bumbling geek that was his reality - had promptly rebutted it. Yuugi was no psychiatrist, but he thought he knew enough about schizophrenia to know that wasn't what he'd just experienced. He'd thought in terms of voices all his life - Jii-chan's, Anzu's, his mother's, Jounouchi's, and most of all, his own - and apparently some part of him thought Yuugi Now simply wasn't up to par. And so that part had sent reinforcements. Yuugi supposed he'd be all right with that, as long as said reinforcements didn't keep spouting nonsense.

"Has someone cast a spell on you, little Aibou?"

Yuugi jerked and then picked up the robe. "Sorry. I kind of got lost in thought for a minute."

Atem smiled. "Perfectly all right. Shall we go?"

Yuugi nodded, set the robe on the bed, and then followed him out.

* * *

Yuugi wasn't entirely surprised to find a horse already waiting for Atem when they left the palace. Atem told him to walk by the horse, and Yuugi obeyed. He was all too happy to stick close when he realised the people in the city were all stopping in the middle of their business to watch Atem ride past. Yuugi was okay with large groups of people, strangers, and people staring - he'd grown used to them, living in a city and being a duelist - but there was something about large groups of strangers staring at him that made him intensely uncomfortable. Nor was the response limited to idlers. Market stalls were abandoned as the pharaoh came into sight. Children stopped playing and watched, wide-eyed. Women appeared from behind houses, some of them still carrying clothes or grain baskets. A game of senet ended prematurely when one of the players, jumping up for a better view, upset the barrel the board sat on. Yuugi kept one hand buried in the silky comfort of the horse's mane. Atem didn't even seem to notice the incredible amount of attention he was garnering. Yuugi was more than a little relieved to help Atem off his horse and watch him go into the temple.

His relief didn't last long. The first one to approach him was a man perhaps thirty years old, his skin burned almost black by long hours in the sun and wind, his hands visibly scarred from many hours of work. This man wanted to know if it was indeed the pharaoh who'd just ridden through the city marketplace. Yuugi confirmed that it was.

"And how does he fare?" the man asked. "The rumours said he'd died."

"He's fine," Yuugi answered, sure there had to be a better answer, but not sure what it might be. "Definitely not dead yet."

The man started to laugh. Yuugi smiled slowly. He hadn't realised until it was out of his mouth that the reference probably wasn't the best idea, but it didn't seem to have mattered. The man wound down to chuckles. Yuugi hoped the man would head on his way; he was bad at small talk even in Domino, where he at least had some idea what was and was not appropriate. His hopes were quickly dashed. It didn't take long before Yuugi found himself the center of a small knot of people, all of them keen for news of the pharaoh and intent on seeing the strange, exotic boy-slave who was clearly from no place any of them had ever seen. Yuugi kept an eye on the entrance to the temple. If Atem came back out, Yuugi didn't want him to be swarmed. In the meantime, he'd become something of a spectacle. Yuugi wasn't used to having his appearance dissected, and he was finding the process rather unnerving.

At last Atem appeared, and Yuugi slid easily through the throng of people to his side. The throng split and fell back, suddenly silent. Yuugi stayed close, and when Atem approached the horse, Yuugi got down on one knee and laced his fingers together into a step. Atem used the small boost gladly, swung his other leg over the horse, and waited for Yuugi to get to his feet before clucking to the horse and getting them on their way. It didn't take Yuugi long to realise they were going the way they'd already come.

"Um - aren't we going to another temple?"

"We already did, last - what's this?"

Atem reined in the horse. The road was lined on both sides with people, both curious and happy to see their leader back on his feet and among them. The way was clear - except for a woman walking up the middle of the road with her arms held out at waist level, turning her head slowly from side to side, eyes scanning the road just in front of her. A low murmur ran through the crowd. She drew closer, and Yuugi realised her eyes weren't scanning the road.

She had no eyes.

Instead she had a very pretty mouth and nose, and above them a large mass of twisted white scar tissue. Yuugi could feel the intensity of Atem's gaze, looking down at this woman - perhaps five or six years older than he - in shock.

"Who are you?"

The woman's head jerked up. She was clearly startled at his voice, coming not from person-level but horse-level. Yuugi wondered what her mind saw when she heard it - a man on a horse, or a giant? Atem slid off the horse.

"Lady, who are you?"

The woman suddenly realised who was standing in front of her. Yuugi saw her try to get to one knee. She lost her balance in her haste, and teetered. Atem put a steadying hand on her arm to keep her from falling.

"That's not necessary," he said, and drew her back to her feet. "What misfortune befell you?"

Yuugi didn't recognise the name she spoke, but it was all too clear Atem did - his lips thinned into a white line, and his eyes hardened. He let his hand rest on her shoulder, and when he spoke, his voice was gentle.

"Go your way with no danger from me," he said. "But stand aside only a moment, so you're not injured by the horse."

The woman nodded. Atem helped her find her way to the side of the road. Yuugi had the feeling she would have been crying, if she'd only had eyes left to cry with. Atem had a way of doing that to people. They expected a god. What they got was a man both cruel and kind at the same time, perfectly willing to mock and tease but practically incapable of kicking someone when they were down.

"I remember your face as a child," Yuugi heard the woman whisper, to nobody in particular. "What I would give to see it again, and bless it for your kindness!"

Atem touched her wrist. "You see with these, do you not?"

What was left of her face twisted in fear. "Great Pharaoh, I wouldn't dare - "

"I would, and do." He raised her hands to his face and closed his eyes. "See me."

Her fingers traced the outlines of his face - lips, eyes, the edge of the crown - and when she let her hands fall, they were trembling. One of the women in the crowd reached out to touch her shoulder and pull her back, and she went willingly. Yuugi got down on one knee and boosted Atem back up.

They were nearly to the palace when Yuugi couldn't wait any longer. As usual, it was probably an unwise question to ask - but the woman's face had filled him with a kind of horrified pity, and there were some things he just had to know.

"Pharaoh?"

Atem cast a glance down at him. "You called me Atem before."

Yuugi felt his face flush. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I just, I heard Shemei call you that once, and it kind of - "

"I don't mind." The ghost of a smile fluttered across his face. "That name is reserved for my friends."

If anything, Yuugi's face only grew redder. "Um - " He nodded. "I - I wanted to ask you - that woman. What happened to her?"

Atem's lips thinned. Yuugi instantly regretted asking. Then Atem's face smoothed out, and he sighed.

"Many years ago, little Aibou, this land was invaded by a great evil." His hand touched the God Pyramid. "My father took steps to expel that evil, and succeeded - but in the end, it cost him his life."

Atem stopped, lost in thought. Was that, Yuugi wondered, what Atem really believed? That his father had died to avenge his people, rather than to protect his son? Yuugi thought it might just be so - if Siamun, or perhaps Ankhnadin, had told him the story of his father's demise, he might very well believe it.

"Every once in awhile I still run across the last traces of that evil," Atem continued at last. "Blinded women . . . mutilated livestock . . . families broken by the disappearance of a child . . . it's hardly a pleasant reminder, but it makes it a good deal easier to mete out justice when you come face to face with the results of evil left alone." Atem swung off the horse and nodded to the stablehand who came out to recieve it. Yuugi walked alongside him in silence almost back to the kitchens. Yuugi Now was telling him his next question was a very bad idea. The new Yuugi - still as yet not properly named and classified - was telling him he had a right to know. And so at last, he asked.

". . . Atem?"

"Mmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You may." Atem held up a single hand, slid into a pantry, and returned with a melon, cut in quarters. He gave half of it to Yuugi and kept moving.

"You were going to ask?"

Yuugi nodded and bit his lip. "I don't know. Maybe it's none of my business."

Atem shrugged. "I suppose you have only one way of finding out, don't you?"

Yuugi tasted blood as his lip split open again. He sucked on it. This time, at least, the split didn't seem to be deep, and it stopped bleeding quickly.

"When I - you know - " Yuugi made a vague and helpless gesture to indicate he wasn't sure what phrase it was exactly that he intended to use. At last he abandoned the attempt and took a different tack. "Ruia."

"What of her?" Atem looked vaguely annoyed.

"I just - never mind. It's probably a bad question."

"You've got this far. You might as well say what's on your mind."

Yuugi took a deep breath. "When you were teasing her. Why did you treat her that way? I've never seen you do it to anyone else - ever. It doesn't make sense."

"You think not?" Atem cocked an eyebrow at him. It was Yuugi's turn to feel annoyed. Was Atem implying that the entire thing had been an elaborate setup to get Yuugi into his bed?

"Ruia's story also goes back to my father," Atem said at last. "Her husband was rendered a service by my father, with the understanding that the day would come when he would have to repay the debt. When the writ came up, he was unable to pay, and so he offered me his wife, instead."

Yuugi frowned. He knew it was a common practice - will work for debt repayment - but it still bothered him.

"I agreed to take her into my service for a year, with the understanding that she would be kept properly, and the remainder of her wages would be considered payment. We have a saying, little Aibou - 'first honour, then pride, and ruin follows after.' Ruia is a proud woman - too proud." He paused. "If she had only agreed, and obeyed - which she had no reason to not do, I might add - I would have released her husband from the debt."

"You mean the whole thing was a setup? A test?"

"Yes." Atem paused. "I expected her to perhaps demur on account of her husband, and truly, the most honourable thing for her to have done would have been to ask if she could only speak with him first, so as to not delude him - to demonstrate loyalty to home as well as country - but she didn't. She lied outright to avoid her duty, albeit a fictitious one."

Yuugi tried to decide whether or not this knowledge annoyed him. That he'd been had he'd known ages ago. That he'd been paying off someone else's debt he hadn't. He'd spent a year in Atem's bed because of someone else's test. Yuugi thought perhaps he should feel the way he'd felt when he'd been wrongfully accused of cheating on an English exam, and had had to sit a detention he hadn't earned. He was slightly disturbed to realise that no such feelings were forthcoming. At last he only nodded.

"Um - " Yuugi stopped. Atem raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For telling me. I mean - "

"You did ask, little Aibou."

Yuugi nodded and looked at his feet, well aware that his face was roughly the same colour as the little plastic hotel in the Monopoly box.

"I won't be going to the throne room until midday, little Aibou," Atem said. "Would you eat with me?"

Yuugi felt his eyes widen just a little. Atem was, it was true, an incredibly casual pharaoh, and he routinely sat in the slave quarter to share a bowl of beer or simply some good conversation, but to have the invitation extended so openly -- !

Something deep inside of him cried out that this was a bad idea, Yuugi, a very _bad_ idea, lunch was practically right next door to a full-blown date, and -

Yuugi told the something to shut up. If lunch was right next door to a full-blown date, then he and Anzu should probably have been wearing engagement rings.

"Sure."

* * *

Yuugi was starting to think the gods must hate him.

One thing he'd noticed about Egypt was the sheer quiet in the mornings - no honking horns, no Jii-chan shouting that Yuugi had better get up _this instant_ if he didn't want to be late for school, no alarm clock, no whistling teakettle, no radio playing downstairs, no Jounouchi swarming nimbly up the cherry tree to rap on Yuugi's window and hurry him up, no beeping kitchen appliances. On the whole, he considered it something of an improvement to be able to wake slowly and let his mind adjust to the light before being inundated by noise on all sides.

And so when someone banged once, very loudly, on Yuugi's door, he came awake as though the sound had been a shot instead of the flat of someone's hand or fist. People here did not usually pound on doors. Set and Atem were both in the habit of letting them slam carelessly shut (and, Yuugi had noticed, both of them did it with the same kind of wrist-flicking motion - had anybody else, he wondered, ever noticed that they were both very predominantly left-handed?), but there was a long distance between slamming a door and beating on it. If some catastrophe had befallen the palace while he'd slept on, oblivious . . .

The council was already in the throne room when Yuugi came running in. His heart - already pounding from the run between through the deserted kitchen quarter and into his destination - doubled. Then he realised only six of them were present, and of those six, only Shada was fully dressed. Everyone else was missing something significant - a cloak, a headdress, wristbands. Isis was barefoot. Yuugi bowed breathlessly. Atem motioned him to the side of the throne, every action brusque and short. Yuugi didn't see any other slaves in the room.

There was a bang from the far end of the throne room, and then Set ran in, his hands raised to his shoulder. Yuugi saw him make a clipping motion with two fingers and drop his hands as he reached the front. In spite of the serious attitude in the room - one that spoke of some great crisis - Yuugi had to bite back a smile. He'd never really given much thought to what kind of hair Set might have underneath the headdress, but if he'd been asked, the last thing he would have come up with was a reddish-brown braid that, had it hung down Set's back, would have ended somewhere just below his shoulderblades. Then the impulse to smile faded. Yuugi had on more than one occasion observed that these people, though friendly, were nothing if not appropriate. What, he wondered, could have happened to bring them all here in the first, earliest gray light of dawn, all of them in the roughest state of dress?

It was Shada who began. "A trading caravan came in early this morning - Asiatics." He said the last word with an unconscious kind of distaste. "They passed through Ophir, and gave me word that the king has sent forces to collect the villagers to whom we gave sanctuary."

"How many?" Atem and Ankhnadin both spoke at the same time.

"Two hundred. Armed."

Set lapsed momentarily into some very colourful demotic. He stopped himself in the middle of a word and shook his head. "Apologies. Go on."

"As far as the traders were aware, the soldiers' orders are to present themselves here and receive permission to gather up their countrymen."

"They won't find it," Atem answered. "They have no countrymen here."

"I know that," Shada said. "Still, they won't see it that way. What they see are Ophir refugees who stay here by your good grace, Great Pharaoh, not a group of new citizens to whom we extend every opportunity given to a native."

Atem nodded. Yuugi could see Isis trying to consult the Millennium Item hung around her neck. At last she shook her head.

"There's no destiny here, Great Pharaoh," she said. "They could attack, or we could drive them out. I can't see which."

Atem sighed and leaned back on the throne. "We're on our own, then. Is that what you're saying?"

Isis nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Atem closed his eyes and pressed the heels of his hands against them. He was silent for a good thirty seconds at least. At last he opened his eyes.

"Shada."

"Great Pharaoh?"

"When can we expect these men?"

Shada shrugged and shook his head. "I can tell you only that the merchants met up with them a day's caravan-ride out of the capital. They stopped there to trade and garner supplies."

"If it took the caravan a day," Mahado cut in, "I'd estimate perhaps a day and a half for men wearing armour and carrying swords and supplies, likely on foot. Count it a day and a half for every day a caravan travels. How far by caravan between here and the Ophir capital?"

"Two weeks."

Twenty days, Yuugi thought. Twenty days across scorching desert.

"Just over a month for the soldiers, then," Mahado continued. "We should count ourselves lucky - we have a week to plan. Far better than one day simply seeing them marching through the palace yard."

Atem closed his eyes again to consider. They were still closed when he began speaking. Yuugi wondered if he was watching some kind of picture behind his eyelids, a sort of movie of how it might play out.

"We'll make it clear to them that they won't be taking anyone from this city, and hope they go peacefully on their way. Ankhnadin, Siamun, Set - I want you to provide a plan by tomorrow afternoon on every possible course of action if they choose to disagree - magical, military, civilian. You're excused from duty here if you feel you could use the time more productively to do so. Mahado, Isis - any preparations you think you might find necessary. Shada, Karim - I'll need you here. In the meantime - " he sighed heavily and opened his eyes - "I'll contemplate it. We may yet come to a reasonable solution. Every minute counts, of course, but as Mahado said, we have a week. It's a fair amount of time, and I think we can all spare an hour to dress and eat. We've been informed early, and that's a good start." He motioned to Yuugi as the group filtered out, and Yuugi stayed by his side all the way out of the room and into the corridor.

"What was _that_ all about?" Yuugi could understand their concern - two hundred armed men marching into Memphis would not be a good thing - but he couldn't understand why on earth they'd all feel the need to assemble and discuss it at roughly five in the morning. He followed Atem up the staircase.

"A week, as Mahado said, should be enough time to plan, little Aibou. But one doesn't dismiss lightly the threat of a fully armed contingent of men invading one's capital to capture civilians. To plan at the earliest possible moment is the correct course of action." Atem sat down to finish dressing. He cast a sideways glance at Yuugi as he clasped his wristbands. "You were very prompt this morning, and I thank you for it."

"Were you the one who hit my door?"

"I was," Atem admitted. "Shada woke Ankhnadin and Set. Set sent Shada to me so he could wake the others, and I woke you on my way past to the throne room. I thought perhaps you might come in useful later, if we need a loyal contact in the slave quarter who can keep his mouth quiet and his ears open, and as such I wanted you in full possession of the facts first-hand. I don't think I need to tell you, do I, that not a word of this is to be spoken to someone without my permission - not even to Shemei or Idut?"

"You don't." The last thing they needed, if they were indeed trying to keep things quiet, was to tell someone who was in charge of large contingents of slaves and servants. Atem nodded, satisfied.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate your bringing something to the throne room to eat. I should really get back as quickly as possible this morning."

Yuugi nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you." Atem paused. "Little Aibou - if someone asked you to lie, could you do it?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"If Shemei, for example, wanted to know why I chose not to dine this morning in the slave quarter or the banquet hall, what would you say?"

Yuugi shrugged. "It's you. Who knows?"

Atem started laughing. "Quite possibly the best rebuttal you could make, little Aibou. But could you make it promptly, naturally, without seeming contrived?"

"I think so," Yuugi answered slowly. "If I really had to. I'm better at bluffing than lying," he admitted.

"Then do your best to ensure nobody knows what actually transpired in the throne room this morning. If you feel unable to give an answer without suspicion, answer not at all."

Yuugi nodded.

* * *

After the early-morning drama Yuugi had fallen into, the normal course of throne room action seemed incredibly insignificant. Shada made his formal report on the Asiatic traders. Karim noted it down for the court record. Isis brought up the current public-works project - temple repairs. This, too, was duly discussed and inscribed. Ankhnadin and Siamun were absent, and when Atem left the throne at midday, Yuugi mentioned casually to one of the other throne-room slaves that it was really a shame Atem had sent the pair of them to examine the temple repairs, wasn't it, on a day when one of the rare Asiatic caravans came through? He'd mentioned that morning that it would have to be done. The slave agreed - Asiatic caravans were both rare and exotic, and as a rule this made them exciting - and by the time Atem was sitting in the slave quarter that evening to eat, it was common knowledge that the two senior members of the council had paid a visit that day to the temple of Ma'at in town. Atem offered Yuugi a large grin.

"There's quite the rumour going round, little Aibou. Have you heard?"

"Oh, yeah," Yuugi said, grinning right back. "I think it might have been Hebony who mentioned it to me."

Atem snorted laughter. "That was really an excellent move on your part. I knew I could count on you."

Yuugi shrugged. "I was kind of afraid they'd come out of wherever they were holed up and spoil the whole thing, actually."

"I ensured their whereabouts were communicated to them at the earliest possible moment."

It was Yuugi's turn to laugh. The statement was simply too, too perfect.

"So - so do we know yet what's going to happen?"

Atem shook his head. "Too early to say. But I trust I can depend on you again, should we need you."

Yuugi nodded and scooped some rice out of his bowl. He'd been pleasantly surprised to discover the food among the goods the Asiatic caravan had traded in, and even more pleasantly surprised to find that Shemei knew how to cook it. This particular batch had been flavoured with fenugreek and dried onion and tasted vaguely like curry. Yuugi half-wished for a pair of chopsticks and some beef and vegetables spooned over it - one of the things he really, really missed about Domino was Jii-chan's stir-fry - but he'd take what he could get. Atem took a thoughtful bite of bread.

"We'll be missing Set and Mahado tomorrow. I don't suppose you have any suggestions on where they might be."

Yuugi didn't respond right away. Atem correctly interpreted his reticience as thought and waited patiently. At last Yuugi swallowed a mouthful of rice and answered.

"Reports of possible vandals at Saqqara. They're going to check it out."

Atem nodded slowly. "Very good. Simple. And easy to believe, unfortunately. I don't suppose you could get it about without its being obvious that you're the one saying so."

"Madu told me."

"Good enough." Atem sighed. "I can't wait until this whole thing is over and done with. Making up cover stories is anything but easy."

"Well, you've got me to help you now," Yuugi said, aware that he was anything but good at making up cover stories. A slow smile spread across Atem's face all the same.

"I do have that, don't I, little Aibou?" Atem leaned back, satisfied. "I do have that."

* * *

Atem did not usually leave the throne at midday. This was an established fact; if he left at midday, it was never for more than half an hour, and then only to refresh himself and take care of any personal business he might find necessary. Since his illness, however, the established facts had changed; he'd taken to injecting a two-hour break in the middle of the day, during which time he ate, drank, took a short walk, and occasionally lay down for a catnap. Yuugi was glad to see it. Atem had finally recognised himself as a mostly ordinary human being who could not be expected to push himself to the absolute limits of endurance every single day without potentially disastrous consequences. Yuugi wished the cost hadn't been so high - every time he watched Atem stand up at noon he found himself thinking, with a pang, of Merishu - but at the very least Atem had started to take better care of himself, and in Yuugi's mind, that was a definite improvement.

It was two days past the announcement of the advancing Ophir troops, on a day when Yuugi was working in the kitchen, that Atem laid a hand on his shoulder and told him he was expected in the throne room after he completed his midday chores. Yuugi nodded and returned to scouring bowls while Atem meandered off in whatever direction he found most appealing for that day's amble, munching on a date as he went. Yuugi watched him go, and presently took his stack of clean bowls into the pantry. He made for the storeroom where the reed mats hung and unhooked all those dry enough to be stacked and stored. He brushed his wrap to get off the stray bits of reed, and made for the throne room.

Atem had not yet returned, and there were no empty places for a slave to sit or stand. Mahado gestured Yuugi forward. Yuugi went, bowed, and waited. Mahado took a step forward to speak for the group.

"The pharaoh said he would send you to us."

"He did," Yuugi said, feeling incredibly awkward. Were they supposed to be conducting business with Atem absent?

"We've been asked - on his behalf - to offer you thanks for his care, and any reward you may ask."

For a moment Yuugi found himself unable to answer. _Any_ reward? Gold, freedom, a chance to be more than just a slave? He found himself wondering if perhaps Atem's madness was contagious. Then he stopped to consider. Gold would avail him nothing - yes, he could go into the town, he was sure, if he asked the right people. But what use had he for money? There was nothing gold could buy him that he needed, or even wanted, really. The day he left the palace and had to make a place for himself among the citizens of Egypt would be the day he became truly enslaved. And to be more than just a slave - did he really want that? Did he really want the responsibilities of the world sitting directly on his shoulders? Yuugi didn't think he did. He'd been there once, and it had been terrifying. And did he think he could convince them to do what he really wanted, and send him home? He didn't think so. Even if they were to outfit him for a journey to Japan and offer him every blessing, he'd still get there three thousand years too early - if he got there at all. At last he shook his head.

"I appreciate it, but . . . there's nothing you could give me that I want."

Yuugi heard a quiet murmur from the slaves around the room. To be offered everything - and throw it away! Yuugi saw the faces of the council tighten as one, and hurried onward.

"I mean - I'm grateful, I really am, and I know you're offering me a lot, and I know I probably sound insane right now. But - I wouldn't know what to do with anything I don't already have." He shrugged. "I'm happy with what I've got, I guess."

"I think perhaps you underestimate the pharaoh's offer," Mahado pressed, and he mentioned both gold and freedom as well as the chance for Yuugi to have a servant or property of his own. Yuugi shook his head again.

"I understand, but really - I have everything I need." The idea of having a servant of his own nearly made him laugh. What would he need one for? To hold his sandals while he slid them on in the morning?

At last Mahado nodded in return. Yuugi could tell he didn't understand, but didn't know how to explain that really, he had the best deal he was going to get. A decent bed - a roof over his head - food - clothes - the friendship of the pharaoh - trust - honest work. If Jii-chan and his friends had suddenly dropped out of thin air and announced their intention of staying with him here, Yuugi thought, life would have been absolutely perfect. He waited until he was dismissed, headed back for the kitchen quarter, and that was when the trouble began.

Yuugi had never been assigned to social tasks as a rule. Even when he was preparing food, he was usually given solitary, one-person jobs. And so it was that when Atem returned from his daily stroll, Yuugi was sitting alone next to a wall, basking in the early-afternoon sunlight and pitting olives. Atem hailed him. Yuugi looked up and waved a friendly hand. Atem beckoned to him.

"You've been to see the council?"

Yuugi nodded, embarrassed. He had a distinct mental picture of Atem playing senet with Set or Mahado while hearing the story of how that troublesome Aibou just didn't know how to accept a reward, and felt his face flush. Atem tilted Yuugi's face upward.

"There's something I didn't tell them about. A personal gift, as it were."

"What - " Yuugi stopped in mid-sentence as a weight suddenly made itself known on his left wrist. He looked down, and then raised his hand to take a closer look. The bracelet was really something to be admired; not girly enough to be embarrassing, but still pretty enough - _cool_ enough, he might have said, if he'd still been in Japan - to appeal to his inner aesthete. Yuugi didn't even want to guess how many thousands of yen such a thing might have cost in a Domino jewelry shop, beads of fashioned silver and -

"Is this _jade_?" Yuugi's mouth fell open. He was pretty sure it was - the bright, milky green of the absolute finest. It must have come in with the Asiatic traders.

"Do you call it so?" Atem asked, his voice curious. "It's a stone such as I've never seen before, but - "

The 'but' marked the edge of Yuugi's transition from one life, comfortable and known, into another.

Because it was at that point, completely without thinking, that he threw his arms around Atem's neck and planted a full-hearted kiss directly on his mouth.

It was as he realised just exactly what he'd done that he also realised what a mistake he'd made. Atem wasn't kissing back. Yuugi backed away, his eyes incredibly wide and horrified, hands firmly over his traitor mouth. Atem was staring at him as though he'd never seen him before. And so Yuugi did the only thing he could think to do.

He turned, and ran.

* * *

Yuugi cowered against the door. It was locked. He had no idea where he was, how long he'd been there, or how long it would take before he was found, dragged out, whipped, and probably killed. He tried to think - think hard - of what he should do. New Yuugi stayed silent. Yuugi Now could think of nothing to do but whimper. His mental version of Jii-chan was likewise unhelpful.

_You'll have to leave, Yuugi. Get some food from the kitchens tonight and leave the palace._

Yuugi felt a sharp pang of anger at his mental Anzu for her quick dismissal of the problem. It was the way his mother would have handled it.

His mother.

It had been his mother's voice, not Anzu's. Fading in and out like a bad radio, echoing like a shout in a valley before a thunderstorm. Yuugi let out a low cry of misery as he realised he could no longer tell their voices apart. He rested his head on his knees and cried quietly, breath hitching in his chest - Yuugi's version of outright wailing. He heard feet on the stairs. His crying stopped abruptly even as tears still trickled down his cheeks. Maybe whoever was coming wouldn't see him, a small figure huddled into one deep corner, and he could at the very least make it hard for them to hear him.

Siamun came into view, his face-wrap pulled down for the first time in Yuugi's memory. In that moment he looked more like Jii-chan than ever, and Yuugi felt an actual physical pain in his middle to go along with his freshly-broken heart.

"I thought I might find you here."

Yuugi took a deep and wavery breath and wiped the remaining tears from his face with the back of his hand. Siamun's eyes rested on the bracelet as he sat down next to Yuugi on the floor.

"This is very nice," he said, touching the bracelet with one finger. "Did the pharaoh give it to you?"

Yuugi nodded abruptly. If he got out of this alive - in which case yes, he probably would have to run from the palace - he would leave the bracelet behind. He was under the impression that things so nice should probably be earned, and he certainly hadn't done that. In the meantime, he let his fingers play with it freely, the weight a comfortable solid in a world from which the bottom had dropped out utterly. Siamun sighed and put a hand on Yuugi's shoulder.

"We should get you out of here. The pharaoh wants to see you."

Yuugi felt the sick pain in his middle again. This wasn't going to go well. Siamun peered into his face, clearly concerned.

"Are you quite all right, Aibou?"

That did it - the final straw on the back of a camel that had been labouring for far, far too long. Yuugi did not just cry; he sobbed. He cried for Anzu and Jounouchi and Honda and Jii-chan, for his classmates and the calculus final he'd never taken and the book for English still unopened in his bottom desk drawer. He cried for the loss of late nights with Jii-chan and hot cocoa and their ongoing backgammon tournament, of rainy afternoons with Anzu and videotapes of old Saturday morning cartoons, of long and tortuous tabletop RPG adventures with Ryou and Jounouchi and a shared plate of rice cakes, of knowing that when he woke up in the morning his alarm clock would be making that stupid annoying beeping sound and if he turned his head he'd see his school jacket hanging right over the back of his desk chair. He cried for weekends in the shop, when Jii-chan would go out with friends and give Yuugi the chance to earn twenty or thirty yen on top of his allowance.

He remembered Honda trying to teach him to ride a motorbike - something he'd failed at miserably after nearly sending the stupid thing right up onto its back wheel and over - and cried harder. He cried for the loss of their memories as he realised slowly that Anzu's voice was not the only thing missing; he could no longer remember the precise shade of Jounouchi's hair, or the colour of Ryou's eyes, or what Honda's favorite jacket - the one he wore everywhere and would never throw out - looked like. He cried until his eyes were dry and red and painful. His stomach hurt. He sniffled. And felt as though all the tears in the world would not have been enough to shed. Siamun squeezed his shoulder, an attempt at comfort. Yuugi took a deep breath.

"Sorry," he whispered, the word slightly muffled by a stuffy nose. "I didn't - "

"Something troubles you," Siamun said. "What is it?"

"I want to go _home_," Yuugi answered, aware that he sounded five years old in his misery. "I miss Jii-chan." Jii-chan wasn't all he missed - not by a long shot - but he was Yuugi's answer to home, and the mention of him was a short, three-word summary of all he'd loved and lost when he'd been taken from a place called Domino City, Japan.

"Why didn't you mention so to the council?"

Yuugi shook his head. "It's too far." He paused. "I'm not even sure what direction I'd be going in." He thought it was east-by-northeast, but he couldn't be sure anymore. The lay of the land was different than it would be three thousand years in the future. And therein, of course, lay the rub - even if he could have been sure where to go, the time was all wrong. Siamun made no comment - only got up, took Yuugi's wrist, and pulled him up to standing.

"Come. The pharaoh waits."

The words sent another sick jolt through Yuugi's stomach, but he followed all the same. They knew where he'd been hiding anyway; staying would do him no good.

Atem was waiting in the kitchen quarter. Yuugi's entire insides were a nest of snakes. Atem nodded to Siamun and reached for Yuugi's hand.

"Come with me."

Yuugi followed, his hand unresisting in Atem's grip. The fight had gone out of him. What happened next would happen. There was nothing he could do to change it - whatever the mysterious "it" of his fate might be. They went down one passage and up another, past doors Yuugi did not recognise, and at last they came out in a small courtyard he'd never seen before. It was full of trees, and as they passed one of them, Atem reached up, picked a piece of fruit, and put it in Yuugi's free hand. Yuugi's eyes widened. It was an apple. He decided to save it, if Atem would let him, for later - if there was a later - so his first apple in a year would not taste like so much sawdust in his mouth. Atem led him to a bench, took his other hand with the apple still in it, and pulled Yuugi gently down onto the bench. Then he took a closer look at Yuugi's face.

"You've been crying, little Aibou."

Yuugi scrubbed the back of his hand across his eyes, embarrassed, trying to wipe away traces he knew only a good night's sleep would destroy. Atem took his hand again as soon as it landed back in Yuugi's lap. "I - don't worry about it. I'm sorry."

"I do worry about it," Atem protested. "Has someone hurt you?"

Yuugi shook his head, and then decided he might as well tell the truth. "I miss home."

"The council could have sent you back, little Aibou."

Yuugi shook his head again. "They couldn't."

Atem's brow furrowed. "Why not?"

"It's kind of a long story. And you probably wouldn't believe most of it." Yuugi felt tears starting again in the corners of his eyes. He turned his head, but not before Atem could see, and a gentle hand reached out to brush his face and stop the tears before they could reach his cheeks. Yuugi tried to stop. He had the feeling he might be able to. As long as he wasn't required to do anything else for a few minutes - if he could just take the time to worry about this, and just this - he thought he could manage. Atem sat in silence, waiting patiently until Yuugi took a deep breath and let it out.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for, little Aibou."

Under other circumstances, Yuugi might have blinked in surprise; just now he'd exhausted himself beyond that point.

"Why did you run?"

Yuugi was stuck. That, he thought, was a very good question, although not the one he'd been expecting Atem to ask. Yuugi looked down at his hands, still clasped in Atem's, and rolled the apple around in his fingers.

"Would it help you if I started by asking why you kissed me in the first place, little Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head abruptly. He had an answer, it was true, but it wasn't a good one. Rather, it was the one that seemed to get him into the most trouble at all times. But he had to start somewhere, and so at last he wrenched his mouth open to give his reason.

"Would you understand if I said it just seemed like a good idea at the time?"

The side of Atem's mouth quirked up. "Perfectly." He paused. "But you ran."

Yuugi nodded, his eyes once again fixed firmly on the apple.

"Why?"

Running had also seemed like the best possible idea at the time, but he imagined Atem would quickly tire of that answer, and so Yuugi thought for several moments before answering as honestly as possible.

"I was afraid."

Atem took the apple out of Yuugi's hand, set it on the bench, and wrapped his fingers around Yuugi's. The warmth was comforting.

"Afraid of what?" Yuugi didn't answer, and Atem cocked his head down and sideways into the line of Yuugi's vision. "Of me?"

Yuugi nodded. Then he paused in mid-nod and shook his head. Atem brushed Yuugi's fringe out of his face. There was a long pause. Finally Yuugi broke it.

"Not you, exactly." No, not Atem. Rather, what Atem represented - the possibility of Yuugi's punishment for a stupid, impulsive act, and the more frightening prospect of Yuugi's not being quite as straight as he'd previously believed. If Yuugi had known how to articulate those things, he would have, but words under stress were not Yuugi's strong point, and so he fell silent again.

"Then what?"

Yuugi shrugged. "I . . . I don't know. I just - I heard you talking to Set this one time," he began, ready to apologise for everything down to the creation of the world if it were asked of him, "and he said something about you - you know - liking me, and I just thought - "

"So you did it to oblige." Atem sighed and closed his eyes. Yuugi could hear the rest of the thought - the _I was afraid of that_ - without Atem's even having to say it.

"No. Yes. Not exactly. I don't know," Yuugi said, well aware that this answer did not exactly clear things up. "I just - I don't know why I did it, okay? It's not the kind of thing I do. Ever. I don't even know why it seemed like a good idea." This was not precisely true - he had been thinking, in a vague sort of way, of Atem's maxim about trading one precious thing for another - but once again words failed him. Atem opened his eyes slowly.

"You felt you'd be doing me a favour by paying me attentions, because you believed it to be what I wanted. Is that it?"

Yuugi shook his head. The idea had never even entered his mind. Abruptly he pulled his fingers away from Atem's and fumbled with the elaborate clasp of the bracelet. It fell into his lap. He scooped it into his hand and placed it in Atem's palm.

"You probably want this back."

He saw hurt in Atem's eyes, and wished more than ever that just once he could do something without it turning out exactly the opposite of how he'd wanted. Atem looked down at the coil of beads in his hand and closed his eyes again.

"It's yours, little Aibou. Do with it what you wish."

Yuugi ran his fingers between the beads, rolled them around, felt the carvings of the dragons in the jade. Finally he decided to let Atem answer the question for him.

"What did you give it to me for?"

Atem would not meet his eyes. "Now is not the correct time, little Aibou. I was mistaken to ever think it was."

"Come on, you can't just leave it there," Yuugi argued. "It's like when you're putting together a puzzle and you get to the end and the last piece is gone." Yuugi didn't remember any jigsaw puzzles having ever been found in Egypt, but there had been the Millennium Puzzle - a device of Atem's own creation - and surely that meant there must be another.

Atem's mouth quirked in an automatic and joyless smile. "As you said, little Aibou, it seemed a good idea at the time."

"You had to have a better reason than that." Yuugi had a vague belief that expensive pieces of jewelry did not fall under the good-idea-at-the-time category. Atem still would not look at him.

"I was going to ask," he said, his voice very soft indeed and not at all in the tones Yuugi had come to expect from him, "if you would allow me the privilege of courting you."

Yuugi's mind jammed. He opened his mouth without the slightest idea what he was going to say. Nothing came out. He felt Atem's hands slide away from his, and was vaguely aware that Atem was standing up.

"We should go," Yuugi heard. "You have work, and so have I."

Yuugi stood up numbly, his brain still trying to process what he'd just been asked. He followed Atem unthinkingly.

The apple was still sitting on the bench.

* * *

Yuugi padded slowly down the hallway to his room. He did not want to go to bed. His conscience was gnawing at his insides like a living thing. Atem had left the throne early that day, disappeared deep in the palace complex, and when Yuugi had come down the hall for bed, he'd been able to hear a soft sound in Atem's room, quiet but constant. He'd crept to the bottom of the staircase and identified it almost immediately: crying. Not the crying of a spoiled child denied a favorite toy, either. It was soft, deep, heartbroken. And so he'd slipped away, feeling incredibly guilty and as though somewhere that day he'd missed something very, very important.

Even now part of him was telling him he should turn around, and in his mind, he could see exactly how it would play out. He would hurry up the stairs, push the door open, sit down on the bed, wrap his arms around Atem's shoulders, and soothe him. _Shhh, I'm here. Don't cry anymore. It's okay._ Atem would put his arms around Yuugi's waist, and Yuugi would play with his hair to quiet him and wash away the hurt he had so carelessly inflicted that afternoon. He would explain more fully why he had run, and that he hadn't intended any harm. He would explain why he'd returned the bracelet. And at some point Atem would start nodding, and Yuugi would see him beginning to understand, and then -

And then?

Then, he supposed, it might go any of a few ways. Certainly he was not personally in favour of the one where Atem took his hands and kissed him goodnight before they both settled into their separate beds for the night. But the whole idea was madness. At some point, entirely without meaning to, he'd started leading Atem on, and this was the result. It was a problem that would have to be rectified, and running up the stairs to hold him and caress him would be going in exactly the wrong direction. Yuugi thought he understood now the old saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions. And so he slid quietly into his room, and closed the door, and undressed for bed.

He sat down on the edge of the feather tick to attempt finger-combing the tangles out of his hair. Something cold slithered against his leg, and Yuugi's eyes widened. It would be exactly his luck to find a snake in the bed now.

The snake, or scorpion, or whatever it was, rested more fully against his leg and then stopped moving. Yuugi looked down, moving his leg cautiously.

The jade bracelet was sitting next to him.

Yuugi picked it up and examined it. All of the beads were short cylinders, the silver ones smooth, the jade ones carved elaborately with miniscule dragons. In the flickering light of the torch on the wall they seemed almost to move. Yuugi held the bracelet a little closer and examined them. Yes - it was as he'd thought. Jii-chan had told Yuugi legends of all kinds when Yuugi was just a child - stories of Loki and Thor, Zeus and Hercules, Mars and Minerva, Isis and Thoth - and these were the dragons from one of the old mythologies - a _Japanese_ mythology, no less.

Here was Hi, the stern enemy of Mizu and Ki, the twin tricksters. Here was Tenou, the dragon who held the sun in her mouth and the moon in her claws, and whose scales were the stars. Here was Chi, whose breath formed the volcanoes and whose tail and feet were the mountains, and the solitary and mysterious Kami. Fire, water, wood, sky, earth, and the dragon-form of God - six of the seven dragons who created the world. Jii-chan had never told him about the last, but Yuugi supposed it didn't take a genius to come up with Metal, the last of the Eastern elements. Yuugi turned the bracelet and counted, and yes, there were seven of them - the Seven. Atem couldn't have chosen a better gift if he'd tried, and Yuugi had thoughtlessly and ungratefully turned it down. Tomorrow, if he had the chance, he would apologise and offer his thanks. Certainly Atem deserved them.

He fell asleep with the bracelet still twined between his fingers.

* * *

_You said you'd take care of him,_ a woman's voice said. Yuugi was not entirely startled to find himself sitting next to Akana in the little apple orchard. Yuugi shook his head.

"I didn't say I was going to fall in love with him, though," he protested. "There's a difference."

_Is there?_

"Okay, look. You must know about him - you have to," Yuugi argued. He could see by the look on Akana's face that she understood what he meant, and so he continued. "I like _girls_. I always have. And I'm sorry I can't change that, but even if I could, he's not the kind of person I'd - "

**Oh, you can cut _that_ shit**, said another voice from his left. Yuugi turned his head. Sitting next to him was a very bored-looking second Yuugi. This Yuugi was dressed in Yuugi's after-school clothes - black jeans and a tank-top - but unlike Yuugi, he was wearing a large amount of eye makeup and looked undeniably _cool_. Yuugi knew instantly who the second Yuugi was. It was New Yuugi.

**You can take that shit and stick it in a place the sun never sees,** New Yuugi repeated, and Yuugi found himself a little shocked. He was not, as a rule, a particularly vulgar person. New Yuugi didn't seem to care.

**If he's not the kind of person you'd switch sides for, then you tell me exactly what it is you're looking for.**

"Well - blue eyes, I guess, and not too tall - "

**Fuck that. I didn't ask for a photograph, dimwad.**

Yuugi paused to consider. "Smart," he said at last. "Funny. Nice. Somebody who likes games and doesn't need somebody to do every little thing for them. And somebody who's not so tall I have to stand on my toes to kiss them," he finished stubbornly. Some things were negotiable - he could deal with a significant other who did not play Final Fantasy as long as said significant other was not depriving him of his own gaming-time - but that last item was not.

**Okay**, New Yuugi said, in the tones of one dealing with a very young child or a very stupid adult. **And can you tell me just exactly which part of this little list it is that he doesn't fit?**

_You could be good for each other_, Akana said from behind him. _He's already done so much for you, and you for him. He called you his partner once. How is this any different?_

**What is it you think some girl could give you that he can't?**

"Because when we were working together before, there was no kissing involved. And breasts," Yuugi said, answering them both in turn. He was starting to get annoyed. It really wasn't fair of his mind to try to talk him into things he didn't want to do.

**Because you actually like breasts, right?**

Yuugi had to admit he did not find breasts particularly exciting. Certainly they were not the Taj Mahal of good looks that Jounouchi made them out to be, and large ones were a little bit frightening. Yuugi, zero; The Other Team, one.

"Okay, then tell me this. What happens when people find out who I really am, and decide they want him married to some girl, and I just disappear in a mysterious accident?"

_That wouldn't happen. The council will protect you._

**He's the fucking _pharaoh_. Anybody tries to mess around with you and they're going to be picking their teeth out of their lap - and that's if it's Atem and not Set doing the dirty work.**

"And if Set does?"

**They'll wish he hadn't.**

Yuugi considered the many potential uses of the Millennium Rod and had to admit this was probably true. Yuugi, zero; The Other Team, two. Yuugi decided there was only one thing to do: cut short this whole ridiculous exchange. It was really quite irritating to be talking to people whose mouths didn't move, and even worse to have all of his dream-senses (and selves) ganging up on him. He pushed himself off the bench and headed in the general direction of the door to the palace.

New Yuugi was standing in front of him, elbow bent against a tree, head propped on the corresponding hand.

"What the - "

"I don't think we were done talking to you," New Yuugi said. At least he was actually talking.

"I want _out_ of here," Yuugi said, at the end of his patience. New Yuugi swept his hand in a grand gesture in the direction Yuugi had been walking. Yuugi passed him, and presently found himself back at the bench. Akana was still sitting on it, though New Yuugi was gone. Yuugi's mouth opened - closed - he sat down, helpless to do otherwise.

_He's a good man. If you accept that your life in your city of Domino has gone - and you seem to have - then why not take the chance?_

Yuugi pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. "Okay, look. How do I know you're not just, I don't know, a figment of my imagination or something?"

Akana smiled at him and reached up to a clip in her hair, fashioned of silver and turquoise and in the shape of a flowering branch. She released it, and a wing of hair fell free. She shook it back absentmindedly, put the clip in Yuugi's hand, and closed his fingers over it.

_When you wake . . . you will know._

"Okay, fine. Look. If you're real - and I'm not saying you are - if you're real, I'll talk to him. That's all I'm promising. I'll talk to him, and if he still wants anything to do with me, I'll think about it."

_Thank you._

The world around him faded. Yuugi tumbled into darkness - not the panic-inducing, heart-pounding kind of darkness that lurked behind a small child's closet door, but the kind that told him it was probably very close to time to wake up, and he was leaving a dream so he wouldn't be completely disoriented when he opened his eyes. And with the thought, his eyes _did_ open. He felt something heavy in his hand - the jade bracelet. He'd never put it down.

He opened his fingers, and something bluish-green and silver fell into his lap. Yuugi reached down to do up the clasp and tuck it carefully away beneath the bed - he didn't fancy losing or breaking the bracelet while doing chores.

The piece of jewelry his fingers encountered was too thick and stiff to be the bracelet. Yuugi felt a chill caress his skin, fear touching him like an old lover, and then it was gone.

Until he saw the bracelet sitting neatly with his other personal effects.

He knew he hadn't been the one to put it there.

Yuugi looked down at the metal in his hands. Silver, inlaid with turquoise, and in the shape of a flowering branch.

Yuugi, zero; The Other Team, three.

Game, set, match.


	15. Imperfectly Correct

MY LAPTOP HAS BEEN FIXED YAY. Folks, meet Yggdrasil Aibou I. He's a distant relative of Kaiba's computer, but he's been disowned because he allowed me to cover him in stickers. Ah, well - he's cooler anyway.

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 15/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 11 663  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **language**, **homosexuality**, **graphic but (mostly) innocent kissing**, and **angst, yo**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi answers. Things happen.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **T.K. Yuy**, whose two-page REVIEW OF LOVE on Chapter 14 kept me going when the going got rough.

* * *

Yuugi paused outside the door. His initial plan - to talk to Atem when he appeared in the kitchens for his midday meal and walk - had failed spectacularly, because Atem had not come to the kitchens. By talking to a few other slaves Yuugi managed to ascertain that Atem had eaten with Mahado and then taken a nap, skipping his walk altogether. Yuugi had finished his chores as quickly as possible that evening, slipped back to his room, and cleaned himself up as best he could without going to the baths for the slaves first. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have cared how he looked when he presented himself in Atem's room - it was a sort of unspoken mutual agreement that Yuugi spent his days doing hard work, and could not be expected to look fresh and perfect after nightfall - but tonight hardly counted as normal circumstances. He'd dealt Atem a serious blow, and now he had to try to fix it. And while he was at it, he was trying to deal with the idea that perhaps he wouldn't be _completely_ averse to the scenario in which Atem took his hands and kissed him goodnight.

**You know, it's really not necessary to box yourself in this way,** New Yuugi said. Yuugi was really starting to get sick of him. **You didn't have a problem with it when he was just fucking you. So what gives? You'll fuck a man, but you can't fall in love with one?**

_Will you shut up?_ Yuugi thought back at New Yuugi fiercely. He was aware that there was very little logic in this; New Yuugi was, after all, only a voice in his head. Still, Yuugi was absolutely not going to allow a voice in his head to tell him what to do without his explicit permission. Illogic or no, it worked; New Yuugi retreated. Yuugi took a deep breath to steady himself, and then stepped through the door. He'd asked himself earlier that night what he would do if he found Atem with someone else - and by "with" Yuugi meant something very specific and personal - and then had refused to entertain the thought any further. Atem would not be with someone else. He simply wouldn't.

And Atem was not - not within the bounds of what Yuugi had considered, anyway. There were indeed two people on the bed, but they were both sitting up, fully clothed, and with a senet board between them. And further, Yuugi was pretty sure Set was straight. He might have been slightly worried about what was going on if Mahado had been the one currently rolling the dice, but Set was probably safe enough.

Set moved. Atem reached for the dice, looked down, and drew his hand back.

"Good game."

Set shrugged - there was no victory to be had when playing against a distracted opponent, the gesture seemed to say. Yuugi saw his head turn.

"Um - I'm sorry," Yuugi said. "I - I didn't know you had company. I'll just . . . " he mumbled and then trailed off, turning to leave. He heard the sound of feet on the floor.

"Don't bother. I should have been out of here an hour ago. I have things to do." Set swept past him.

_Yeah, I bet. And Santa Claus lives in Iceland and there really is a tooth fairy,_ Yuugi thought. He might be a good man - Yuugi would not argue the point - but putting Set and subtle in the same sentence without a negative modifier was somewhere close to impossible.

Atem paid Yuugi no attention at all; he simply put away the board, dice, and markers, and then stood on the far side of the room with his back to Yuugi, apparently examining something on a shelf.

"Um - hi."

There was no sign whatsoever that Atem had heard him.

"Atem?"

Yuugi saw his shoulders twitch.

"Can I - can I talk to you?"

"Aren't you already?"

There was no anger in Atem's voice, but no welcome, either. It sounded, in fact, slightly dead. Yuugi shivered. He closed the door and moved a few steps into the room.

"I - " He felt ridiculously petulant. Then he realised they weren't going to get anywhere if they weren't both completely honest with each other, and decided there was nothing he could do but say what he had to say, petulant or no.

"I was kind of hoping I could actually talk _with_ you. You know, looking at each other."

Atem turned to face him, a no-man's-land of floor and bed between them.

"Then talk."

Yuugi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He would not let himself panic now. He would _not_.

"Okay, look. Before I say anything else, there's just one thing I want to be sure about. What is courting, exactly?" Yuugi's only experience with the term came from a very bad romance novel he and Anzu had taken turns reading - and mocking - aloud to each other in the treehouse. He thought it had something to do with a kind of marriage in which the people getting married didn't actually have any say in whether they got married or not, but he wasn't entirely sure. Also, Yuugi had the vague idea that any book with a title like "A Forbidden Darkness" probably should not be trusted as a reliable source.

Atem moved back to the bed at last and sat down.

"The technical definition is to pay affections to someone with a serious and honest intention of marriage." Atem closed his eyes. "Obviously I used the term somewhat loosely." He took a deep breath. "I must confess I hardly expected you to agree, given the . . . circumstances involved."

Yuugi bit his lip. Now came the hard part: explaining to a man who had no concept of Yuugi's world just what, exactly, had taken him so aback. Yuugi moved to stand by the bed; he had not yet been invited to sit, and in the current atmosphere he did not feel comfortable inviting himself.

"Listen," he said, hoping Atem would understand that he wasn't just using it as an opener. He wanted to be sure Atem understood. "I didn't turn you down because I thought you were weird or because I don't like you or something. I didn't turn you down at all, really. It's just - where I'm from, if I asked some girl on a _date_ - that's kind of like courting, only you don't have to want to get married to do it - I'd get laughed at. It's kind of bizarre to go from being the kid nobody wants to date to being the one the king wants to date. Court. Whatever."

Atem nodded almost imperceptibly, his eyes tracing the pattern of the blanket. Yuugi thought - hoped - he understood the layers in that nod. Atem did not necessarily understand where Yuugi was going with this, but he took Yuugi's point. Yuugi pressed onward.

"Up until yesterday I didn't even know I could like guys that way. And maybe I don't. I'm not really sure. But - I wanted you to know I wasn't just - I don't know - laughing at you. Or trying to make you feel bad about what you said, or like you shouldn't have said it. I just - I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know what I _wanted_ to say. Or if I should say anything. I kind of really screw things up when I talk most of the time." And now there was one final thing that needed to be said. He was afraid to say it - terrified, in fact. Once it was said, there would be no going back. But he'd promised. And perhaps, he thought, saying it would not have to be a bad thing. It was really all a matter of perspective.

"I can't say for sure if I like you that way, or even if I could. But - if you want me to - still - and you'd let me - I'll think about it. And try to figure it out." He paused. "And I'm not just saying it to oblige."

Atem's head jerked up at the last sentence. The expression on his face was one Yuugi had never seen before, and it seemed to encompass a kind of hope and desperate fear all at the same time. Yuugi sat down on the bed. It seemed to be Atem's turn to not know what to say. Something was nagging the back of Yuugi's mind. He tried to identify it while Atem simply stared at him, lips parted in shock, and that expression in his eyes. For once in his life Yuugi was able to catch the elusive thought before it could turn and dive back into its rabbit hole. And saying it might be a good thing - might knock Atem out of the trance he seemed to have fallen into.

"But - I should probably tell you. My name isn't really Aibou. I called myself that when I came here because I didn't want to sound stupid, saying something you wouldn't understand."

The expression in Atem's eyes changed and became wary. "Then what is your name?"

"My name - _my_ name, the one people call me - is Yuugi. My family name, the name people use when they want to talk about me and my parents and grandparents all together - is Mutou. Mutou Yuugi."

"Yuu-gi," Atem attempted to sound out. Yuugi had been right - Atem was able to pronounce each syllable at least somewhat properly when he separated them, but when he attempted to string the sounds together they came out completely wrong. "What does it signify?"

Yuugi blushed. "It means 'game.' My grandpa kind of has a really bad sense of humour. He owns a shop that sells games, and my parents let him name me. It's not a very common name. I'm not even sure it's a name at all, actually. I've never met another Yuugi. Or even heard of one."

Atem looked interested. "And does Aibou also signify, or did you make it up?"

"Aibou means 'partner,'" Yuugi said, feeling slightly surreal explaining its meaning to the man who had once christened him that way. "Someone really close to me used to call me that."

"Then it is your name - simply not the one your family gave you. Correct?"

Yuugi shrugged. "I guess you could look at it that way."

"And what does Mu-tou signify?" In Atem's mouth the word came out sounding something more like _Mewtwo_ than Mutou. Yuugi quashed his irritation at his family name being turned into the name of one of the most annoying Pokémon on the face of the planet. Atem couldn't help it. He had been raised, after all, with Egyptian sounds, not Japanese ones. And further, though Yuugi's pet game was already being played with real magic and real monsters, Pokémon did not yet exist. Yuugi wondered vaguely if any of the monsters in the vault looked like Pikachu.

"I'm not really sure," Yuugi admitted. "But that's what my family is called. My grandpa - my father's father - is Mutou Suguroku, and my father is - was - Mutou Shigeru."

"And your mother is also called Mu-tou?"

"She - she got married again - after my father died." Yuugi could feel a blush creeping up his cheeks. "She was born Kaioh Makoto, but when she was married to my father she was Mutou Makoto, yeah. I don't know what her family name is now. I think it might be Ogata. She moved to another city very far away when she got married again, and we don't talk much."

Atem seemed to understand that Yuugi's mother was a bad topic for discussion, because he moved on.

"So Mu-tou Yuu-gi is your given name, and Aibou is your taken name," he murmured. Yuugi nodded. He could have split hairs on the Mutou part, but chose not to. Atem had grown up in a civilisation where Yuugi would have been more properly identified as Yuugi-son-of-Shigeru. Yuugi was impressed by how quickly Atem had caught on to the basic idea, and wasn't going to belabor the point. There was one thing that had to be set straight, though.

"People call me Aibou," Yuugi said. "I asked them to because I wanted to make it easy on them. But here - " he tapped his chest, just over his heart - "I'm still Yuugi. And I always will be, no matter what people call me."

Atem nodded and smiled. "Just as I, as pharaoh, have many names among the people, but to those I hold close I have a single name - the one you call me by."

Yuugi nodded. He knew all about ceremonial names. They tended to be ridiculously long, and, when translated, to form run-on sentences of headache-creating quality. If Atem were to actually sit down and write his full name out in a notebook, it would likely cover three or four lines. Atem grew solemn.

"I appreciate the trust you place in me by telling me your true and secret name, little Aibou," he said. Yuugi hadn't thought of it that way, but Atem had a point. "I hope someday I may have the privilege of calling you by it."

"Knock yourself out."

Atem's brow furrowed. Yuugi mentally replayed what he'd just said and recognised the potential insult lurking in it. He hurried to rectify it.

"Sorry. It's just an expression. I guess people here don't use it. It means go ahead, if you want."

Atem considered. "I think, for the present, Aibou may be more appropriate." There was a pause, and then he leaned forward and put his hand on Yuugi's cheek. "If you'd do as you say - to consider, honestly, with a true heart - "

He didn't seem capable of finishing the sentence.

Yuugi reached up and covered Atem's hand with his own. The bracelet on his wrist slid a little, a slight musical jingle of jade against silver accompanying its movement.

"I will. I promise." He could not promise anything more - could not promise, for example, that tomorrow he would come running into this room and be waiting for Atem to appear so Yuugi could cover him in kisses - but he would promise to think about the possibility, yes.

"Take whatever time you need," Atem whispered. Yuugi reached out to touch his cheek. He looked so _lost_, even in the middle of a room containing those things he held most dear. Atem closed his eyes. Yuugi wasn't fabulous at reading facial expressions, but he didn't have to be - Atem had just died and gone to heaven, that expression said quite clearly. With the touch of three fingers against the side of his face. Yuugi drew his hand back slowly; he did not want to give the impression of running, but neither did he want Atem to get the idea that his decision was already made and his talk of contemplation was so much formality. He came very close to sliding right off the side of the bed, and scooted a little closer to the middle. Atem leaned just a little further forward and rested their foreheads together. Yuugi's breath caught in his throat. It might just be Atem being Atem - he had, it seemed, absolutely no conception whatsoever of the idea of personal space - but after what they'd just discussed -

"I - I should probably warn you I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing," Yuugi whispered. He'd wanted it to come out at normal volume, a half-joking admission of his own inexperience, but his voicebox apparently had ideas of its own.

"Allow me to instruct you. It's really quite simple," Atem answered. He put two fingers under Yuugi's chin, tilted it upward, and then tilted his own head until their lips touched.

Yuugi had heard - in what he and Anzu had dubbed Passionate Evil Death, for one - of people melting. He'd always thought it a rather stupid phrase. No longer. He let his eyes flutter shut and kissed back. Something in his stomach twisted in a manner not at all unpleasant. He rested a hand on Atem's arm.

**I'm sorry. Were you the one saying something about 'thinking about it?' I'm just trying to confirm, you understand.**

_Didn't I tell you to shut up?_

Yuugi could feel Atem's hand on the side of his neck, Atem's thumb caressing his cheek, and debated, in a very fuzzy kind of way, whether he wanted to take the kiss further. Part of him said it would have absolutely no problem with that - quite to the contrary, that part said, it would like it very much indeed. The rest of him said that yes, it would be nice - but he might want to consider quitting while he was ahead. It was already next door to perfect, as first kisses went. There was no need to mess it up, and there would be time for other kisses later. He pulled away slowly and opened his eyes. He was just in time to see Atem's eyes fluttering as though they weren't entirely sure if they wanted to open, or stay shut. At last they opened, and then Atem looked at Yuugi expectantly. For the second time in two days Yuugi found himself with his mouth open and nothing to say. At last a single syllable - quite detached from the rest of him and completely without his consent - escaped his lips.

"Wow."

A slow smile spread over Atem's face. "I believe you speak for us both, little Aibou."

Yuugi nodded. Then, as the nerve endings that were not in his face began to register data once again, he realised exactly where he was - sitting in the middle of the pharaoh's bed in a room with the door closed - and when - probably somewhere near midnight - and exactly what they'd just done - which needed absolutely no further classification. Yuugi blushed.

"Um - I should probably - go. So you can - sleep," he added. Something vital in his brain seemed to have been severed. Atem considered this, and then frowned.

"Not yet. Sit here." He got off the bed and disappeared somewhere behind Yuugi, who heard the undeniable sound of a search. And then -

"Ah."

Atem slid back onto the bed, holding in one hand a very small pot and a miniature stoppered jar. He opened the jar first. Yuugi smelled a delicious scent. Atem reached out and touched Yuugi's bottom lip. Yuugi jumped, and his lips parted. Atem dipped one finger into the jar and ran it over Yuugi's much-abused lower lip. Yuugi could feel something - some kind of oil, he thought - soaking into the skin. Atem repeated the process, put the stopper back in the jar, and took the lid off the pot. He used a different finger to scoop up a thin layer of the pot's contents, and applied this, too, to Yuugi's lip. Yuugi could feel the unmistakable texture of beeswax.

_What do you know. It's ancient Egyptian chapstick._ The idea made him smile. Atem smiled back.

Atem put the lid back on the pot and set it down on the bed before taking a long look at Yuugi's mouth. Then he nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Much better. Sleep well, little Aibou."

_Yeah, after_ that_? Are you kidding me?_

"You too."

"Thank you."

Yuugi slid off the bed and made for the door in an awkward fashion that involved several random, unexplained pauses and more than a few glances back over his shoulder. Whatever else Atem did or did not have going for him, he was one _hell_ of a kisser. Yuugi let his mind use the phrase with absolutely no compunctions at all. Sometimes it just fit.

He undressed for bed and slid between the covers. He did sleep, and he did sleep well; and when he dreamed, he dreamed again and again of the taste of wine and spice pressed against his lips, and a hand tangled affectionately in his hair, and a voice that whispered to him:

_My Aibou . . . my Yuugi._

* * *

Yuugi sat with his legs tucked neatly beneath him. The doors opened. He touched his forehead to the floor, as usual. The sound he heard was not quite Atem's walk, and so he raised his head just a little and chanced a glance upward.

It was not quite Atem's walk, because Atem was bouncing and shuffling in a manner that resembled nothing so much as a cross between the moonwalk and a Native American rain dance.

Yuugi bit the insides of his cheeks. There had been one memorable occasion when, for no reason at all, Atem had skipped from the throne to the door, and once or twice when he'd essentially danced his way both in and out - but it was the noted exception, hardly the rule. Yuugi had the feeling he did it only when things in the court either had been, or promised to be, boring for quite some time. Atem was not above offering diversion to his own slaves if there was entertainment value in it for him, as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I have a very important announcement." Atem clasped his hands solemnly in front of himself, standing not too far from the throne and facing the council. Only Siamun and Mahado looked unalarmed. Yuugi could see them exchanging knowing glances. Atem let the silence spin out. Set made an impatient kind of gesture. A large, silly grin spread across Atem's face.

"It's very windy outside today." And with that, he seated himself on the throne. Siamun and Mahado were now very blatantly not looking at each other or anyone else. Mahado accidentally caught Ankhnadin's eye - the normal one - and started to chuckle. Isis glanced in his direction and bit her lip firmly. A smile managed to form on her lips all the same. Set turned around, probably to yell at Atem for making light of their duties. Atem put on the world's least convincing innocent face, complete with the most ridiculous puppy eyes Yuugi had ever seen. There was a pause. Set turned back with one hand over his mouth and his head ducked. Yuugi saw his shoulders twitch.

_Everybody out of the pool. Set's laughing. Armageddon's come early, folks._

Atem turned his head to glance at Yuugi. One eyelid dropped slowly in a sly wink. Yuugi covered his own mouth to quiet a fit of the giggles.

_It's no wonder everyone thinks you're insane._

Yuugi had to admit he didn't mind so much, although he was starting to wonder if Atem had managed to sneak something into everyone's morning beer. The only two council members not now trying to stifle laughter were Shada, who looked frankly bewildered, and Ankhnadin, who simply looked annoyed. It was, Yuugi thought, sheer domino effect, each of them starting up another who might otherwise have been perfectly all right. Atem waited until they began to quiet.

"In other news, it's a simply marvelous day for a game of senet in the back courtyard, and I expect to see you all there this afternoon. And Set, Siamun, if you think you can get out of it - just do me a favor and don't try."

Yuugi saw the look Atem sent toward the council. Ankhnadin gave a barely discernable nod. Set rested his hand almost casually on the knob of the Millennium Rod, tucked neatly in his belt. Siamun raised his eyebrows briefly. Mahado shifted his weight. Isis ran one thumb absently over the Millennium Necklace. To the ordinary observer, it might have seemed to be a series of meaningless actions, or perhaps indications of irritation or discomfort. Not so to Yuugi, who knew a little more than the rest of the slaves in the room. The council all understood perfectly that a game of senet was not actually what Atem had in mind, and they were signaling so. The back courtyard was private. Atem might take a small selection of slaves - or more specifically, Yuugi or Madu - with him to provide for his basic wants, but what he really wanted was to get the council alone so they could discuss the ever-looming specter, now only four days away, of the Ophir soldiers.

Suddenly Yuugi understood the purpose behind Atem's ridiculous entrance. He wanted the slaves off-guard. Don't mind the pharaoh, he's in one of his moods today. You may as well listen to the wind for all the sense you'll get from him. Just pity the council - they're going to have to put up with his madness all afternoon long. Yuugi wondered if perhaps Atem was not truly as crazy as people seemed to believe. A bit of well-placed insanity had worked for Sherlock Holmes, after all.

The morning sped by quickly. At one point Atem, declaring himself well and truly bored to death, called for a checkerboard. Madu and Yuugi held it for him while he played three games in quick succession - one against Siamun, one against Set, and one against Mahado. Yuugi found it strange that he didn't slide off the throne and onto the floor, as was his usual habit, then chalked it up to Atem's efforts at appearing completely out of his mind. The point was underlined when Atem dropped a piece on the floor and told Yuugi to pick it up. Yuugi considered pointing out that he had only two hands, then thought better of it. He simply shifted one of his hands toward the middle of his side of the board and tried to bend to pick up the piece. The board tipped, and the rest of the pieces showered down on his back. Atem started laughing. Yuugi tried not to get angry. Atem was pulling off an act worthy of an Academy award. Yuugi's being simply another slave, instead of the boy Atem hoped to court, was part of that act. Yuugi wasn't entirely clear on why, but he imagined Atem had good reasons for it. All the same, he was relieved when Atem signaled that he intended to leave the throne. Yuugi took a shortcut and just beat Atem to the slave quarter.

"Little Aibou. What are you doing here so soon?"

"I went the other way. Um - could I - sit with you?"

"Of course." Atem pointed toward the storeroom in which he'd become accustomed to eating his midday meal; it was another of his outré habits that with the exceptions of supper and feasts involving other people, he never ate in a place that was actually designated for eating. It drove Shemei absolutely out of her mind. Yuugi headed obediently for the storeroom, where he pulled a reed mat from a stack and laid it out on the floor. Atem slipped in shortly thereafter, carrying a small tray piled with food and two drinking bowls. Yuugi helped him unload the tray. Atem motioned him to sit on the other side of the mat. Yuugi waited for Atem to begin before helping himself to bread and some strips of smoked mutton.

"Is there something you wished to discuss, little Aibou?"

Yuugi paused to consider very carefully what he had to say. Atem might find it the most ridiculous question on the face of the planet, or he might take it completely in his stride, and how he took it depended almost completely on his mood. Finally Yuugi decided there was nothing to do but be direct.

"I was just wondering if you could tell me about yourself."

Atem's brows knit together, his face a perfect study in confusion. "I don't think I understand, little Aibou."

"I know you're the pharaoh. And I know you were married once. And that's really all I know about you. There's got to be more to you than that."

Atem shrugged. "Regrettably little, I must say."

"Well, would you tell me what there is?"

There was a long pause. Yuugi wondered if he should take it as a no. Then Atem began to speak.

"My mother died two days after I was born, and so I was raised by Shemei. I was apprenticed for a short time to Mahado, who taught me how to read and write and control the magic of the Millennium Items, since it would one day be my duty to wield one. Siamun taught me figures and history. When I was eleven I was married. I had two children, both girls. Idut was born when I was thirteen. Amisi came a week after I took the throne, when I was fourteen. There was some talk of my taking a second wife to provide a son - sheer idiocy, of course - but that ended when they died." Atem paused. Yuugi waited out the silence that seemed to be a natural third member of the conversation whenever Atem's family came up. "I tried to carry out my father's legacy - to protect the people and make this a happy and prosperous land without having a military presence in every corner of the country - and continue to do so. I suppose that sums it up."

Yuugi considered this brief autobiography momentarily before protesting. "You mean that's it?"

Atem shrugged and nodded. "Mahado attempted to teach me medicine - it's tradition - but that didn't go so well. Set had a natural aptitude for it, but when it became clear he was well on his way to outstripping me . . . " Atem shook his head. "My father was a very good man, little Aibou, but he didn't like the idea of one of the servant boys besting his son. Set was moved to separate duties in the military quarter, and as far as I'm aware, that was the end of his studies until after I took the throne."

Yuugi paused to consider the paradox inherent in a man who had a natural aptitude for medicine, and who could probably also kill someone half a dozen different ways with his bare hands. Then he tried again.

"Yeah, but - I mean - what do you _do_? You know, when you're not busy being pharaoh?"

Atem chuckled. "I'm never 'not busy being pharaoh,' little Aibou. I have to be available at all times."

Yuugi shrugged. "Okay. So when you're being available, but you don't actually have to do much of anything, what do you do?"

Atem shrugged. "Games. Occasionally I ride. And then there are festivals. I'd probably do a good deal more if I wasn't so easily recognised, but it's somewhat difficult to spend a day in the marketplace when people are staring at you all round."

Yuugi hadn't considered that. It was a decent point. Even with his head shaved and in common clothes Atem would have been easy to spot. He was unusually petite, for one, and for another, Yuugi had yet to see another Egyptian with bright red eyes.

"And you like stories."

Atem's mouth quirked. "I suppose I do, at that."

"You know, there's a story on the bracelet you gave me."

Yuugi expected Atem to smile and ask about it. Instead he was rewarded - if it could be called that - with a smile that did not quite reach Atem's eyes, and that seemed to contain an incongruous amount of sadness. "I didn't."

Yuugi tried to think quickly. He raised his hand to brush his hair out of his eyes, and then he knew.

"I haven't been wearing it because it's really nice and I don't want it to get broken when I'm working," he said. "But sometimes at night when I'm on my way to bed I'll look at it and it reminds me of the stories my grandpa used to tell me. The dragons on the beads - there's a legend in my country that they're the creators of the world. There's all kinds of stories about them."

"I'm glad it pleases you."

Yuugi heard the note of uncertainty in Atem's voice. He considered trying to change the subject or delve deeper into how the bracelet was a little piece of home, something he found comforting in the darkness of the night, and then decided his main problem was that he simply talked too much. And so he leaned forward and gave Atem a firm hug.

"I love it," he said, and it was the truth. Atem hugged back. Yuugi sank back onto his heels.

"Have you found instruction in what I've told you, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded. In truth, he'd learned disappointingly little, but it was enough. He had some index of Atem's life prior to his entry, and it would be at least somewhat useful.

"Does this have to do with . . . what we discussed, a few nights ago?"

Yuugi nodded again, then offered a small smile to try and take the anxiety from Atem's face.

"It's not like you have to pass a test, or something," Yuugi said. "I'm just . . . " He paused. There had to be some good way of explaining this. "Okay, imagine you're sitting around playing senet with someone."

Atem nodded.

"And now they take the board away, and put a _backgammon_ board in front of you, and they say 'I want to play this now.' What's the first thing you'd do before deciding whether or not you'd agree to play?"

"To play this backgammon game of yours?"

"Yeah."

"Enquire as to the nature of the rules."

Yuugi let out a mental sigh of relief. For a minute he'd been afraid the metaphor would fall apart, given that Atem had never heard of backgammon.

"Well, that's kind of where I am right now. Someone wants me to play a game I've never played before, and I'm trying to learn the rules before making up my mind for sure whether or not I want to play it. Does that make sense?"

"Very much so." This time Atem's smile reached his eyes. Then he glanced into the corridor. "But I'm afraid it's probably quite past time for me to go."

"To the courtyard?"

"Yes." Atem paused. "I'd appreciate it greatly, little Aibou, if you would go with me."

Yuugi nodded.

* * *

True to form, Atem was the last one into the courtyard. Yuugi looked around and recognised it as the apple orchard he'd first sat in five days before. Isis and Shada were holding some kind of quiet discussion with Mahado and Siamun. Ankhnadin was skulking in a far corner of the courtyard. And Set and Karim were playing a game of senet on a board Yuugi did not recognise. Atem's board was carved out of ivory, the markers made of coloured glass. This board was made of painted wood, the markers of clay. Only the animal-bone dice were the same. Set looked up as he rolled the dice and shook his head.

"You do realise your so-called game of senet would have been much more believable if you'd actually brought a board with you."

Atem shrugged. "We can't all think of everything, Set."

Set snorted as he moved. Karim shrugged. "Good game."

Set cleared away the markers. "And you, as well." He'd taken off his headdress, unable to resist the temptation of the prankish wind that blew through the trees, and his hair - pulled today into a loose ponytail with a plain wooden clip - lashed playfully at his face as he stored the board, dice, and markers beneath the bench. He flicked it back over his shoulder as the rest of the council drew near. Atem plopped down on the ground slave-style with his legs crossed. Yuugi and Mahado joined him. Set stood up so Siamun and Ankhnadin could both have a place next to Karim. Isis sat next to Shada on a folded blanket she'd brought for the purpose, both with their legs tucked beneath them.

"I want to thank you all, first, for being prompt," Atem began. Yuugi had to fight to keep from laughing. For being prompt? For beating him to the meeting-place in enough time for two of them to play at least one full game of senet.

"I'm sure you all know why I asked you to come here, and our time is necessarily limited, so we won't bother with that. I think we'd be best served by starting with the possibility of our . . . guests . . . choosing to take action against the city," Atem continued. "It's that possibility that bothers me the most." He turned to Ankhnadin and Siamun, sitting on the bench with Set standing behind them. "We went over this a few days ago, but you said there were some changes you might make. Would you mind . . . ?"

Siamun spoke for them all. Ankhnadin had made arrangements, very discreetly, for a complement of two hundred and fifty men of the army to be prepared for duty on the day the Ophirite soldiers arrived. If resistance of a violent nature was offered, the city would be prepared to react in kind. Set had taken several walks around the city in commoner's clothes at all hours of the day and night to see where troops might be secreted if necessary, both at night and in the day, and felt himself perfectly satisfied that all two hundred and fifty could be hidden according to a plan he'd set up with Ankhnadin. This had been inscribed on several sheets of papyrus that were presented for Atem's perusal.

Siamun added a plan of his own to remove civilians to safety if necessary. The king of Ophir was not known for training his soldiers to be merciful, and it was the intention of Atem's council that no man, woman, or child should be killed or taken. It would be better, of course, if any offensive action could be nipped in the bud before so much as a garden patch could be trampled or otherwise destroyed, but it was best to be prepared for any contingency. Atem examined their plans and nodded. Ankhnadin broke in on Siamun's explanations with a brief addition: that plans for the protection of the palace were already well underway, and the pharaoh must under no circumstance concern himself with them. They would be presented within the day. Atem accepted this argument without question, then turned to Isis and Mahado.

The news from that quarter was not quite as favourable; Mahado and Mana had spent hours working on magical means of protection for both palace and city, but any net the pair of them might weave would be broken when the Ophirites entered the city bounds. The most they could do was to stand by in case of attack, and work alongside the Egyptian soldiers. Isis had still found herself completely unable, even with assistance, to determine any possible outcome for the problem, and so had devoted most of her time to helping collect - also discreetly - items they might need for protection or, let the gods forbid, healing the wounded. Mahado was of the personal opinion that Atem should not appear at all; let someone else present his compliments and regrets and handle the Ophirite captain. Set was the logical choice, of course; he was the younger of the two viziers, and could defend himself, if necessary, against someone much larger than him. Atem, on the other hand, had never learned even the most basic principles of physical self-defense. Atem shook his head.

"It's a cowardly thing to do," he said, and before Mahado could do more than open his mouth to protest, Atem held up a hand. "No more, I beg you. No man unwilling to risk his life for his people should have the honour of sitting on the throne. If our preparations are sufficient, then such an idea should not even enter your mind."

Mahado nodded. Yuugi could tell he was dissatisfied. Of course; it was his life's work to protect the pharaoh, and Yuugi could just imagine the frustration of trying to protect someone who rejected that protection outright. Set shifted restlessly behind the bench.

"I think perhaps it would be wise to have a defensive presence at the ready during talks, at least," he said. His eyes said more: that he would argue Atem absolutely into the ground before allowing him to go completely unprotected. Atem sighed and shrugged.

"I sincerely doubt the wisdom of having fully armed men surrounding the throne if we wish to have a candid discussion, Set."

"Disguise them."

The council turned as one to Yuugi, who promptly bit his lower lip and looked down at his hands. Stupid mouth. Always his stupid _mouth_. Set shifted to face Yuugi more fully.

"Explain yourself, slave Aibou."

Yuugi thought privately that he was really getting away far too easily, but continued anyway. "Well - if you have, I don't know, maybe six or eight soldiers, you could dress them as slaves and put them in with the regular group, and nobody would ever know the difference. I mean, they wouldn't be fully armed, but I don't think it'd be very hard to hide a dagger or something in one of these, if you tied it right and they didn't have to stand up." He indicated his waist-wrap, and demonstrated the way the front overlapped where it tied so as to not present any accidental glances of things the wearer didn't want to show. It would indeed be almost child's play to conceal a dagger or knife between the layers of cloth, ready to be snatched up and used at a moment's notice. A glance made its way around the council.

"That's a thought," Siamun said at last, and Yuugi could tell he was genuinely considering it. When it came to defending their pharaoh, Yuugi thought, no idea was too insane. Even Atem could not argue with Yuugi's idea, although he did wave his hand impatiently to change the subject. Set shrugged, his eyes still belying his casual attitude. He picked an apple off the tree he stood beneath, scrutinised the skin carefully - for worm-holes, perhaps - and then bit into it. Atem sent an irritated glance in his direction. Set turned his head the slightest bit - just enough to see Atem out of the corner of his eye - and took another large bite, which he swallowed in the most leisurely of fashions. Yuugi bit down on the insides of his cheeks. The subtext of the action was clear enough: you annoy me, I'll annoy you. We'll just see which one of us cracks first. If Yuugi had had money to bet and someone to wager it with, he would have put all his money on Set to win. Atem was the more patient of the two, but things that got beneath his skin had a tendency to rankle him more than comparable insults bothered Set.

With the larger portions of the issue taken care of, the rest of the talks went quickly. Eventually most of the council sifted out. Set reached beneath the bench and pulled out the senet board and the coarse-linen bag that contained the dice and markers. Atem sat down on the bench. Set looked up at him.

"I need to talk to you."

Atem nodded. Set cast a glance at Yuugi.

"Privately."

Yuugi shuffled his feet. "Should I go down to the kitchens? In case Shemei needs me?" He knew she wouldn't - his place would have been filled for the day - but it was something to say to get himself out of here. Atem smiled at him.

"If you wouldn't mind, little Aibou."

Yuugi nodded, made his respects, and ducked out.

* * *

Atem stopped just inside the door. Yuugi supposed he had reason to be surprised. It had been weeks since Yuugi was expected to be in Atem's room every night. He was sitting on the floor instead of the bed, it was true, and he'd taken the rather daring liberty of pulling out the checkerboard and pieces to play against himself instead of simply sitting quietly until Atem's return, but he was still there - a living, breathing presence instead of a thought or a ghost. Atem slipped out of his sandals and put them beneath his vanity table.

"Good evening."

"Hi," Yuugi greeted him, scrutinising the board. Playing six-player Monopoly solo was more difficult than playing one-person checkers, but only because keeping all the players separate was such a chore. At last Yuugi sighed and moved. It looked like Ghost - Yuugi's fill-in imaginary opponent - wasn't going to win after all. Atem sat down across from him.

"Having fun?"

Yuugi shrugged. "Just passing time. I used to do this all the time at home." He swept up the pieces and put them back in the bag. Atem took the board and bag and put them away before Yuugi could get to his feet to do it himself. Atem sat on the bed. Yuugi dragged the bench up next to it and sat down.

"I've been thinking," he began, realising even as he said it how stupid it sounded. But since he couldn't take it back, there was nothing to do but go forward. "Where I'm from - I told you about dating, right?"

Atem nodded. Yuugi continued.

"Well - when people go on dates, if the same two people are dating for a long time, the dates kind of - change. Like - maybe you start holding hands, right, and then when you know each other a little better and you get a little closer you kiss or bring your boyfriend or girlfriend home to meet your parents - "

"These dates aren't arranged by the father?" Atem looked incredibly confused.

"No," Yuugi admitted. Atem made a gesture that seemed to ask what this world was coming to, and then motioned for Yuugi to continue.

"Well - anyway, you get closer. You don't just, I don't know, start out kissing and staying the night together. And - well - I keep trying to ask Shemei, and she keeps kind of not answering me - is courting like that?" It was an incredibly awkward explanation and Yuugi knew it, but considering his dating experience - which was exactly zero - he thought he could be forgiven.

"It could be, I imagine. It's nothing I've ever done before," Atem said. Somehow he managed to make it sound like it was someone else's fault. Yuugi bit his lip.

"Little Aibou, if you don't stop that, you're going to make it start bleeding again."

Yuugi forced his teeth to unclench. His lip was sore. He was also vaguely aware that he was trying not to shake. This was exactly the part where, when confronted with asking Anzu to any number of functions - a movie, a school dance, a show - he'd promptly changed topics and decided to forget the whole thing. Atem was staring at him, clearly concerned.

"Little Aibou, are you all right?"

Yuugi nodded. His fingers crept to the jade bracelet. He ran his thumb over the first jade bead he found. The picture of the dragon on it formed in his mind. It was Chi. According to Anzu - who had once spent an entire summer reading about various astrological and mythological elements - Chi was Yuugi's guardian. Her own was Mizu, and Jounouchi's - against all reason, Anzu said - was Hi. And the odds were one out of seven - only a fourteen-percent chance that Yuugi's fingers would have landed on that particular bead, once the silver ones were taken out of the equasion. He supposed it was as good a sign as any.

"Yes."

Atem nodded. "It's just started to heal. You shouldn't - "

"No, you don't understand," Yuugi said, cutting him off with no compunctions at all. 'The gods hate a coward,' Jii-chan liked to say, but if Yuugi didn't get actual comprehension out of Atem _right now_ he was going to turn and run. He simply wasn't wired for pressure like this. "I mean yes. That's my answer."

"Your - ?" Yuugi got ready to push the bench back, mumble an apology, and leave. He couldn't do this.

And then the one thing in the world that could have changed his mind happened.

**Coward.**

As usual, Yuugi knew that thinking something back at New Yuugi was completely illogical, but he did it all the same.

_I'll show _you_ who's a coward._

"You asked if you could court me. And that's my answer. Yes."

Yuugi watched the changing expression on Atem's face with a small amount of alarm. Was seventeen-going-on-eighteen old enough for a heart attack? Atem grabbed Yuugi's hand.

"You - "

"There's just one thing," Yuugi said, trying to bring Atem back to some kind of equilibrium. "You have to stop the whole I'm-completely-insane thing. At least, when it's just the two of us."

Atem nodded. His eyes didn't seem to be focused on anything in particular. They were looking at Yuugi's face, yes - but they also seemed to be looking right through it. Yuugi considered briefly, and then shifted from the bench to the bed. He promptly found himself wrapped in a fervent embrace, Atem's arms tight around his waist, Atem's face buried against the place where Yuugi's neck met his shoulder. He could feel tears hot against his skin and raised his hand to Atem's head, where he slipped his fingers into Atem's hair. He twined the fingers of his other hand with Atem's, their palms together. Atem squeezed his hand. Yuugi squeezed back.

_How long have you been alone this way?_ he wondered. If the death-hold on his waist was any indication, it had been a long time indeed - perhaps forever. Yuugi let his own head fall gently against Atem's, and they sat.

There are some times in everyone's life that have no minutes to be added up. Forever afterward Yuugi would find it impossible to say how long he sat in Atem's arms, playing with Atem's hair and waiting out the catharsis Atem had needed for only the gods knew how many months or even years. At last Atem's hold on him relaxed, and Yuugi pulled his legs up onto the bed so he could hug Atem properly. He could hear Atem's breathing against the side of his neck, still jittering and uneven, and rubbed his back gently. Atem murmured something too low for Yuugi to catch. Yuugi pulled back so he could hear.

"Sorry - I kind of didn't catch that."

Atem took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I shouldn't have asked you for this. Not now."

"Why not?" Yuugi hoped Atem wasn't going to just change his mind. He'd spent too many anxious hours trying to come to terms with the idea of being - not gay, exactly - but not straight, either. And the idea that if he said yes, he would probably never leave Egypt again. Ever.

"This - was not the correct time."

"You keep saying that, and I think I'm missing something here."

"Merishu hasn't - he's not even buried yet."

This, Yuugi thought, was true. Merishu had died somewhere around what Yuugi still thought of as the end of August. It was now halfway through October. Merishu would not be interred until the beginning of November, when the preservation of his body was complete. Atem had been somewhat quieter than usual, a little less eccentric on some days and a great deal more on others, since Merishu's death. But in spite of - or perhaps because of - all that, Yuugi had still somehow gotten the impression that Atem, living as he did in a land where death was viewed as a normal, everyday part of life, had already gotten through the hardest part of his grieving. Never once had it occurred to Yuugi that it might only be delayed, Atem's mind refusing to believe the inevitable until he laid his hands on the lid of the sarcophagus and knew his brother's body lay inside it. There were still tears on his face, and Yuugi brushed them away before taking Atem's hands and holding them.

"Listen," he said, for the second time in a week. Atem looked down at their hands, fingers twined together between their knees. "If you're not ready, I can wait. I don't want you to - " Yuugi sighed and shook his head, frustrated. He'd hoped Atem, clearly the more experienced of the two of them, would be guiding him through this, instead of the other way around. "When my dad died, it was almost a month before I even went back to school. If you need time - I understand that."

Atem nodded. There was a very long pause. At last he spoke.

"I'd still like to consider you - mine." There was a notable pause between the "you" and the "mine," and Yuugi thought he understood why. He already belonged to Atem, technically - as property. As a slave. If Yuugi understood correctly what Atem was trying to say, he meant a different kind of "mine." Yuugi nodded.

"Okay." He paused. He wanted to say something else - how much Merishu had loved to see Atem smile, and how he didn't think Merishu would want Atem to deprive himself of the chance for happiness - but Yuugi had never been the kind to put words in someone else's mouth, and so he didn't. Instead he leaned forward and wrapped Atem in another hug. Atem accepted the embrace gladly. Yuugi stroked his back and hair, trying to offer support and comfort with nothing else attached. It was harder than he'd expected, but it seemed to work, because eventually Atem released him slowly and took a deep breath.

"I suppose I should let you go," he whispered. Yuugi smiled and shook his head.

"I can stay until you fall asleep, if you want."

Atem considered. Then he nodded.

"Your heart is too kind, little Aibou."

Yuugi shrugged. "Look at it this way. It might actually be a chance for me to finish _The Hobbit_, if you stay awake long enough."

Atem's smile was small and a little sad, but genuine. "I dreamt of telling it to Meri. It wasn't a long dream, and yet I must have spent hours with him to have got so far as I did."

"Did he like it?"

"Very much so."

"Well, I'll tell you the end and then you can tell it to him."

Atem nodded. "Were the ceremonies already completed, he could have joined us."

"There's plenty more where Bilbo came from. And I could always tell you some stories from where I grew up."

Atem nodded. Then he paused and ran a finger over the bracelet on Yuugi's wrist. "You said, did you not, little Aibou, that these are dragons?"

"Yes." Yuugi turned the bracelet and pointed out each of them in turn. "Hi - the fire dragon. Chi - earth. Mizu and Ki - water and wood. They're twins. Tenou - the sky. I think this one must be Kane - the metal dragon - even though I've never seen him before. I mean, I know a little about him, I've just never seen the image. And this one is Kami - God."

"Your people have only one god?"

Yuugi shrugged. "In this legend, yeah. In some there are lots of them."

"You said that Bilbo would face a dragon named Smaug."

"Yes."

"How is it, little Aibou, that you speak in one breath of these dragons as good and beneficent creatures, and in the next of one that smites an entire town for greed and love of gold and treasure?"

Yuugi shrugged. "In England - in that whole part of the world, actually - people believed dragons were really awful and nasty. In my part of the world, we think they're really wise and powerful. I never really thought about it before, I guess." He paused. "I could just as easily ask you whether Isis and Osiris were Horus' parents or his siblings."

Atem smiled. "Fair enough. Tell me of your really awful and nasty dragon from England who smote the town of Dale, little Aibou." He paused. "You have another audience that waits quite impatiently for this."

Yuugi smiled, and told.

* * *

Yuugi was rapidly coming to the conclusion that Kaiba Seto was an antisocial, taciturn maniac specifically because Set, son of Ankhnadin, was the perfect, living example of "socially awkward." Some part of Kaiba's mind recalled the many torments Set had suffered while trying to work his way around Atem's fast brain and tactless tongue, and to keep from suffering that kind of indignity again he simply didn't talk to anybody. After the conversation Yuugi was party to on the eve of the Ophirites' official arrival, this logic made perfect sense to him.

It began in the palace yard, where Yuugi was trying to teach Atem to play backgammon. It wasn't Atem's skill level that made this difficult, but rather that the space of a year and then some had erased some of the finer details of the rules from Yuugi's memory. It was all coming back to him as they played, but he could tell Atem was finding it difficult to be patient when Yuugi had to stop to determine which were house rules and which were official ones. Worst of all, they - along with the rather shifty board Yuugi had cobbled together out of clay and ashes - were sitting on a blanket, and so of course just as Yuugi'd suspected they'd get through an entire game at last the corner of the evil covering flipped up and scatted Yuugi's makeshift pieces hither and yon to all points of the compass. It was as Yuugi was scrambling around, picking up the pieces, that Set strode into the yard at a pace not noticeably different from a run.

"I need you. Privately. Now."

Yuugi managed to turn his snort into a cough. Atem was not so considerate. Yuugi saw the cheshire grin on his face and thought Set should probably be quailing.

"Why, Set, I didn't know you cared so much."

Yuugi couldn't help it. He started laughing. Set's lips thinned.

"This is no time for jokes, Atem. This is serious."

That name again, in Yuugi's presence. Atem laid a hand on Yuugi's arm.

"Enough, little Aibou." He turned back to Set as Yuugi desisted. "What's so serious you have to interrupt me for it when you know I'll be back on the throne in an hour?"

"Not here." Set grabbed Atem's wrist. Atem shrugged away from him.

"There isn't anybody else out here, Set. Now say what you have to say."

Set cast a glance in Yuugi's direction and gave up.

"Ankhnadin and I went to speak to the Ophirite captain. The soldiers arrived this afternoon. And they're specifically requesting that for the privacy of the talks - to keep the city from going into a panic - that no person who isn't somehow directly relevant to either you or the council should remain in the room."

"And this is a problem why?"

"Because it leaves you completely undefended."

"I've already told you, Set - "

"And I've already told _you_," Set cut in. "I don't care if I have to chain myself to the throne and sit in your thrice-damned lap, you're not doing this without protection."

Yuugi suffered another serious coughing fit. Atem glanced at him, concerned.

"Are you quite all right, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded. At last he got himself under control.

"I just got some dust in my throat."

Atem nodded his acceptance of this argument, then sighed.

"If you genuinely feel the council's presence to not be enough - "

"If it were only a matter of protection, I'd have no qualms about leaving your safety in our hands," Set interrupted. "But the fact remains that it's impossible to remain completely vigilant in regard to what they may have to say while also remaining completely vigilant in regard to your safety."

Atem shrugged. Set glared. Yuugi glanced between the two men expectantly. It was something like watching a very good chess match.

"If you'd care to discuss the matter further, Set, I'm afraid it's going to have to wait. I was in the middle of a game." He brushed back the edge of the blanket so Yuugi could set the pieces up anew. The ashes he'd used to mark out the dark places were already starting to flake off. "This afternoon?"

"Some of us have more than one duty to fulfil this afternoon, Atem. There is a reason I chose to speak with you now." Set's voice clearly indicated that his state of mind was best described by a T-shirt Yuugi had once seen in a shop: I have one nerve left, and you're getting on it. Atem raised his eyebrows.

"Then don't worry about it."

Set snorted and stalked off. He was perhaps half a dozen strides from the blanket when he whirled around to face Atem once more.

"One of these days you're going to get yourself killed with this my-life-for-you attitude, and when it happens, don't you dare say I didn't warn you."

Atem simply shook his head, smiling, as Set turned about and stalked away once more. Yuugi shivered. Set was, of course, perfectly right; in the end Atem _would_ get himself killed, and it would indeed be in the name of his people. Yuugi wondered if perhaps all the Millennium Items granted a kind of limited clairvoyance to their users, or if Set simply knew Atem well enough to make a guess so chillingly accurate. Atem was looking at him, concerned.

"Have you taken a chill, little Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head. "It's nothing." He remembered one of Jii-chan's sayings, the thing he always said when someone shivered for no apparent reason - _someone's walked over your grave_ - and struggled to not shiver again. Atem looked at the goosebumps breaking out on Yuugi's arms and frowned. He pulled his cloak from around his shoulders and draped it over Yuugi's. Yuugi snuggled into the cloak with no objection at all. He wasn't cold - the breeze was warm, and the weather was, of course, hot as usual - but he could feel the warmth from Atem's skin in the fabric, and it comforted him. Yuugi threw his arms impulsively around Atem's shoulders and leaned against him. Atem slipped an arm briefly around Yuugi's waist and then pulled away.

"It may be best," he said slowly, "if nobody else knows about this - just yet."

Yuugi nodded. He hadn't even thought of the implications of someone seeing the pair of them together in an intimate way that went beyond friendship and was clearly not of a master-slave nature. Eventually Atem would announce it, likely in his usual bizarre and bordering-on-insane way, but until that time came it would be best to keep things secret. And that necessity would serve a second purpose: letting Yuugi see more clearly the line he was not supposed to cross just yet. Once he'd accustomed himself to the idea of dating a man, it had seemed perfectly natural to offer hugs and kisses and general affection, and he was having a great deal of difficulty trying to determine just exactly what would be appropriate and accepted and what would be taking things too far. Having an imposed restriction might help.

Atem sighed and stared down at the backgammon board. He moved a pair of pieces back into their original starting position.

"Well, little Aibou. Shall we try again?"

* * *

Yuugi was sitting on the bed when Atem came in. He looked exhausted, and likely was; he didn't register any surprise at all when he saw Yuugi sitting there.

"Little Aibou."

"Hi." Yuugi slipped off the bed to sit on the floor next to Atem while he undressed. "Long day?"

Atem nodded. Yuugi paused, hesitating, before throwing caution to the wind and examining the bands on Atem's legs, looking for the clasps that held them together. At last he located them, cunning little things that would be barely visible to someone not looking for them, and released them. The bands released a little, the tension gone, and Yuugi slipped them off Atem's ankles. He reached up and set them on the table.

"Thank you."

Even Atem's voice was tired, drained; he sounded something like he had the first time Yuugi saw him after Merishu's death. Yuugi stood up to assist Atem with his collar and shoulderpiece. Atem was moving sluggishly, as though someone had filled his hands and wrists with wet cement. Yuugi was reminded strongly of his mother during one of her headaches, all slow and awkward motions and wan, pale expressions. He fumbled with the backs of Atem's earrings and heard Atem's sigh of relief as Yuugi figured out the wires at last, long gold wings sliding from Atem's ears and puddling in Yuugi's hands.

Atem reached for the clean cloth sitting next to the large bowl that served him as a washbasin, poured water over it, and then washed his face listlessly. With his makeup gone - no kohl or eyeshadow to hide the lines beneath his eyes - he looked worse than ever. He pulled off his belt and tunic, and let Yuugi guide him to the bed. He seemed half-asleep already, moving like someone in a slow-motion playback, and when he lay down on the bed Yuugi had to resist the urge to tuck him in. Atem lay on one side, arm beneath his head, eyes closed. His breathing was deep, and Yuugi was on the verge of pulling the blankets over him and leaving when Atem spoke.

"Set asked me to tell you that you should be in the throne room tomorrow morning as early as possible. He'll meet you there."

Yuugi ran his fingers through Atem's hair. "Okay." He wasn't going to argue when Atem could barely keep his eyes open. Atem reached for Yuugi's hand, took it, and held it. Yuugi said nothing, only leaned forward to pull up the light coverlet from the end of the bed. Its sole purpose was to combat the slight chill that came in through the bedroom window at night, though it hadn't been used since Yuugi had stopped spending his nights waiting for Atem to come in and decide what Yuugi's evening tasks would be. Yuugi let it drape and fall somewhere just above Atem's waist. He was listening carefully to Atem's breathing, trying to determine whether perhaps he _shouldn't_ tuck him in and then close the door quietly behind himself on the way out, and it was only because of this careful listening that he heard Atem's next words at all.

"Oh, little Aibou, it's all just so _much_ . . . "

Yuugi wiggled under the coverlet and slipped his arms around Atem's middle, just above the blanket line. He ran a soothing hand up and down Atem's spine.

"It's okay," he said, and heard the half-defeated sigh that answered him. "You can't do everything alone. Just . . . let me help you."

Atem rested his head against Yuugi's chest. "There's nothing you can do, little Aibou."

"I don't believe that. I mean, maybe I can't, you know, whip out a sword and lop off half a dozen heads, but there's got to be _something_ you need that I can do." There was a long pause, and in the course of it Yuugi hesitated and then pressed his lips gently to Atem's crownless forehead. Atem pulled away just a little, and Yuugi retreated.

"You're here," Atem murmured. "I suppose that's a great deal already." He sighed. "I imagine things will look better after tomorrow. I just . . . "

Atem did not so much trail into mumbles as trail off altogether. Yuugi said nothing - he simply continued to rub Atem's back and keep his distance on all other counts. At last Atem shifted and pulled his legs up toward his chest.

"I should let you go. You're supposed to be up early."

Yuugi sat up, sliding out from under the coverlet. "Okay." He pulled down the covers and helped Atem crawl beneath them. He had no idea what Atem had spent his afternoon doing, but Yuugi had the distinct impression it had something to do with either the Ophirites, or Merishu, or possibly both. Making Atem depressed was almost impossible, and the sad, tired note in his voice spoke of such a depression. Or perhaps, Yuugi thought – perhaps it was only the kind of self-doubt any leader must feel from time to time, the doubt that things truly could turn out all right or perhaps a simple case of being overwhelmed. After all, Yuugi thought, there was that old mathematical equasion he kept coming back to – "pharaoh" was not equivalent to "god," no matter what the commoners might think. In this case, in fact, "pharaoh" was equivalent to "eccentric teenager," and Yuugi imagined that in spite of all his big talk Atem was really quite afraid of what could happen the next day. Yuugi smoothed the covers and squeezed Atem's hand before slipping out, taking the torch with him.

He wasn't around to see the smile that slipped onto Atem's sleeping face perhaps half an hour later, but had he been, he would have hoped - and, had he asked, would have found himself correct - that it was a portent of good and comforting dreams.


	16. Arrival, Departure

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Howdy. Nina here. I would like to apologise, first off, if I sound completely pissed-off, bitchy, and/or rude – I'm not trying to be. But there is something going on with this story that I feel the need to address. And that's this:

I'm rather hurt by the number of reviewers whose reviews say only "update soon please" or something similar (also, reviews that bitch at me for not getting to XYZ event yet). You guys have to understand something: I work thirty hours a week. My sister is getting ready to have a baby. I have friends, I have a family, and though I like to joke to the contrary, I do have a life outside this story. The last two chapters, and this one as well, average about 12 000 words each. Unless I'm much mistaken, I've put out each of them in nine days. That's nine days to research, write, edit twice, and format. The last chapter took me thirty-five hours to write. That particular week I actually spent more time working on this story than I did at work. You have to understand: iI am doing what I can./i You'll get the next chapter eventually, if only you're patient with me. I'm only human. I'm writing about 2 000 words a day, and to put that into perspective, a 12 000 word chapter is about 30 pages long in Microsoft Word. It's no mean feat, believe me.

I understand that to you guys, I'm pretty much a name on a screen. Believe me, I relate very much to that idea – I work in a call center and spend most of my day identifying people by area codes. I understand the kind of disconnect that happens when you're not looking at each other face to face. But trust me – I'm here, and I have feelings just like you guys do. It's very discouraging to get reviews that could apply to any story in almost any fandom. I'm not asking for full-page reviews here (although those are definitely made of epic win). Just – if you're going to review, please, please, iplease/i kindly give me some indication that you've actually read what I've written. I write for myself because writing makes me happy, it's true – but I struggle through writer's block and difficult scenes for you guys. If I didn't have the audience, I probably would have stopped halfway through this and gone to work on iDance of the Robe/i instead.

Some authors – I'm thinking of a certain popular author who does not allow fanfiction, but I'm sure there are fanfic authors who fall into this category too – have gotten too good to read/respond to reviews. I'm not one of them and, if the powers that be are willing, I never will be. I hate those kinds of authors with a passion. I read every review that comes my way – whether via e-mail, site review, LiveJournal comment, LJ-mail, or IM – and when questions are asked, I do my best to answer them. (I have this nagging feeling that one of you guys is still waiting on an answer for a question involving my use of mythologies – if so, kindly whack me over the head and remind me, please?) So please – just keep that in mind next time you decide to leave a review or think that harassing me for spoilers is a good idea (that last is directed to one reader – you know who you are). Your reviews (and the occasional piece of fanart, like the absolutely gorgeous baths scene by bSythe/b that is currently gracing my desktop as a background) are the only payment I get for the time and effort I put into this. Please – just remember that.

I'll shut up now. I've said what I had to say. On to the chapter – all eleven-thousand-odd words of it. I hope you find something in it that strikes you. Certainly parts of it were a surprise to me. I'd like to hope they touch you in the same way.

-- Nina

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 16/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 11 258  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **language**, **homosexuality**, **death**, **graphic but (mostly) innocent kissing**, and **angst, yo**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: The end of the Ophir subplot. Atem grieves.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in Yuugi's country of origin, as well as in my home state, **Yuugi is above the age of statutory consent.** In fact, in story-time he's now above the age of statutory consent in every country I know the laws for (which is a fair few). The astute reader who pointed out via email that Atem is younger than Yuugi by six months should be made aware that in all relevant countries and states, **Atem is also above the age of statutory consent.** If you have a problem with a seventeen-year-old having sex, this is not the story for you.  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **my beautiful reviewers who understand the concept of actually reviewing.**

Yuugi felt it much to his personal credit that he woke up early with no alarm clock, nobody banging on his door, and no smells of toast to alert him. One minute he was asleep, and the next he simply wasn't. He headed for the kitchen quarter, where he relieved one of the pantries of a pomegranate and some bread. He saw a cheese, already cut and prepared for something, and couldn't resist the chance to take just a tiny sliver. He ate it with his eyes closed, the better to taste; how long since he'd eaten cheese? He slipped back out of the pantry before the imp in his head could tell him it would be quite all right to take another piece, and another; one would not be missed, but three or four would leave a noticeable gap. He ate the pomegranate first, and then nibbled his bread on his way to the throne room. The doors were still closed, most of the torches out, and no guards present. Yuugi pushed the door open cautiously.

At the far end of the room he could see Set and the figure of a woman who, when he got a little closer, proved to be Idut. Both were half-dressed, Set not yet in full headdress and Idut with a shawl pulled around her shoulders to combat the early-morning chill. Yuugi hoped this did not bode ill for any of the parties involved.

"I take it you received my message."

Yuugi nodded.

"Were you given particulars?"

Yuugi shook his head. Set cursed. Yuugi was fairly sure at least part of his half-muttered sentence was directed at Atem.

"Then your instructions will have to be given in more rapid order than I would have hoped. You have been party, slave Aibou, to several discussions in regard to the military party due to arrive in this room today."

Yuugi nodded. Then he opened his mouth to interrupt before Set could continue.

"Look. I know you're pretty much the most powerful person in Egypt, other than the pharaoh. But you don't have to talk that way if you want to keep this fast. I'm not going to take this any less seriously if you talk like a normal person."

Set's lips thinned. Then he either saw the sense in Yuugi's brief argument or decided it was a fight not worth having, and nodded once, a curt gesture of semi-approval.

"You understand, I hope, the stakes involved."

Yuugi nodded again.

"Your job today is going to be very simple, but extremely important: to listen, and to appear as stupid as you possibly can."

Yuugi was slightly confused, but nodded. Set began to pace, clearly reciting from memory.

"You came into Atem's service sometime last year," he said. "You proved to be both loyal and incredibly bright, and he had high hopes that you might prove to be a useful member of the court. But unfortunately, shortly after you provided the cure for the illness he suffered this past season, you fell ill yourself and, upon regaining consciousness, proved to have become completely senseless."

Yuugi nodded again. "Okay."

"It's been decided that for your own safety, you're not to be left alone, but for reasons we don't understand, the only person you'll stay with for any length of time without having fits is the pharaoh himself. You're to appear devoted, attractive . . . idiotic." He whirled about and stared into Yuugi's eyes. Yuugi did not let himself flinch under the penetrating gaze. "Most importantly, though you were once perfectly able to communicate with us, _the fever robbed you of your ability to understand our language._"

Yuugi thought he could see where this was going. He would be doing exactly what he'd recommended for the Egyptian soldiers: going undercover, only as a spy instead of a bodyguard.

"Do you understand?"

Yuugi nodded. "Yeah. I just have one question - well, two, actually. What am I listening for? And what are those?" he asked, eyeing a set of chains on the floor.

"You are listening, most specifically, to what's said by the Ophirite soldiers, and especially their leader. Pay attention to all you hear, and ensure you hear it well - even the slightest detail could be important. And these - " Set nudged the chains with his foot - "are for you. The lightest I could find, I assure you. I sincerely doubt I'd live through the night if Atem found bruises."

Yuugi snorted in spite of himself. Set nodded to a place just in front of the throne.

"Make yourself comfortable. I can't guarantee how many hours you'll be sitting there."

Yuugi raised his eyebrows, but complied. Set turned to Idut and nodded. She slipped into one of the niches around the room where slaves usually sat, moving quickly. Yuugi watched her go as Set sat down in front of him with his legs tucked beneath him slave-style, looping part of the chain around and over a stake next to the throne. The stake looked incredibly old. Yuugi wondered when it had last been used. Set ended this train of thought when he clipped a single copper manacle around Yuugi's wrist, and another around his ankle.

"You must keep this stake as much out of sight as you can at all times. As soldiers, our audience will be trained to realise this - " Set rattled the chain lightly - "is actually completely useless, should they see it in full."

Yuugi nodded his understanding. Idut returned with a small box. She'd apparently visited Yuugi's room early that morning – probably while Yuugi was getting his bread - because the jade bracelet was in her hand. She clasped it around his free wrist - the left one - and then proceeded to pull back his hair in a less unruly manner. For this purpose she'd obtained a carved ivory clip instead of Yuugi's usual unadorned reed one. She pulled a kohl pot and stick from the box, which Yuugi suspected might be her vanity box. Idut applied kohl carefully to his eyes, along with a small amount of eyeshadow. She brushed some kind of clear gloss - probably a kind of wax, Yuugi thought - onto his lips, and then shifted her weight backward to display her work to Set, who stood back and examined Yuugi critically.

"I don't suppose we have the time to pierce his ears."

Idut shook her head.

"They'd likely still look fresh-pierced when your audience arrived," she murmured. Set nodded.

"I was afraid of that." He sighed. "Well, it was worth a try." He scrutinised Yuugi more closely, then nodded again.

"Quite satisfactory."

Idut glowed. Yuugi could understand why. Honest, straightforward praise from Set was something akin to a six-year-old figuring out a piece of two-digit multiplication in his head - it _might_ happen, but the odds were highly against it, and it was a phenomenon likely to be regarded as a small miracle. Set ran a hand absently through his pulled-back hair and sighed.

"I suppose I should finish preparing for the day," he said, and then turned to Idut. "Thank you for your help."

Idut smiled widely and nodded before hurrying off with her box. Set waited until the door had closed behind her before speaking again.

"I cannot stress too much, slave Aibou, the importance of your communicating to us in any manner necessary anything you hear that you think deserves particular attention." He paused. "Atem puts a great deal of trust in your mental abilities, and I, in turn, respect that trust. Don't give me reason to doubt it."

Yuugi nodded yet again. Set turned to leave.

"Hey, wait."

Set turned back.

"When you said 'in any manner necessary,' what did you mean? I mean, obviously I'm not just going to have a miraculous recovery right in the middle of the throne room."

Set shrugged. "Throw a tantrum. Cry. Try to steal something from the soldiers. Do something that isn't just sitting about and being docile. Our attentions will be directed, in the main, toward Atem's protection. If you try to use some kind of unimposing signal, it's likely we may not notice."

Yuugi nodded. Set left. Yuugi leaned against the throne and closed his eyes. When Mahado came in twenty minutes later, Yuugi woke up from a surprisingly refreshing catnap.

And so began the most important game of Charades he had played in his entire life.

* * *

He heard the soldiers - a complement of a dozen - before he saw them, and suspected their stay the night before had been for the purpose of ensuring those in the throne room could not smell them, as well. Certainly when they came in their appearance did little for the credibility of their king. Yuugi cowered against the throne and hid the remainder of his face behind his hand, fingers just slightly parted so he could peep out. His presence was the first thing questioned once the introductions were over and done with. He could almost see the smile on Atem's face, lazy and not entirely pleasant, when Atem spoke.

"Aibou was my most devoted - and quite likely, most intelligent - slave until about two months ago," Atem said. "He fell victim to an illness this past season. Some days I think perhaps someone ought to put him out of his misery, but . . . " Yuugi heard the rustle of fabric that almost surely indicated a negligent shrug. "He served me well and faithfully, while he had a mind to serve with. I should hate to see him removed from my service, and I suppose every man is allowed his small indulgences. And truly, he seems happy enough." Atem's fingers wound absently into Yuugi's hair. Yuugi laid his head against Atem's knee and did his best to look stupid and harmless, feeling all the time like a pet dog. He closed his eyes and rubbed his head against the knee it lay against. _Devoted, attractive, idiotic,_ he thought. _Devoted, attractive, idiotic. And in the presence of someone who doesn't want witnesses._

"I apologise to Pharaoh, but our orders - "

"I am unable to allow him run of the palace," Atem interrupted. "He'd do himself a mischief in no time at all. Even could we spare the slaves to watch him, he'd take on in the most frightful hysterics. You see how he is. Surely you can't expect the presence of such a boy would go against your orders."

Yuugi opened his eyes. The soldier addressing Atem - Yuugi hadn't been able to catch his name, and knew only that he was the captain of the group - looked distinctly uneasy.

"We were told that no man or woman who does not relate to the talks could possibly benefit from hearing them, Pharaoh."

"I commend your attention to your duty, and were he still capable of understanding Egyptian speech, I would completely understand your misgivings. But the fever left him . . . " Atem shook his head. "I know not even that he talks. It could be his mother tongue that he speaks, or it could be sheer nonsense. Certainly I haven't heard a single intelligent word from his mouth since he regained consciousness."

The captain glanced around uneasily at his fellow soldiers. Yuugi clung to Atem's leg. _Devoted, attractive, idiotic._ At last the captain shrugged.

"I suppose it can do no harm," he said, "since truly in the matter of his sense your judgment would be better than my own, Pharaoh. I wish only to conduct this business as my orders were given."

This was the first lie Yuugi heard that morning; he would hear a few others, and would recognise them easily. The nameless Ophirite captain had a very distinct tendency to clasp one wrist with the opposite hand whenever a false statement came out of his mouth. The lies, however, were the least of Yuugi's concerns. He could tell just by looking at the council that they, too, had picked up on the captain's telling habit. Yuugi's main fear was that they wouldn't hear the pattern involved in the captain's seemingly casual remarks. As far as he could tell, none of them had yet noticed - and the pattern was far more dangerous than the lies, most of which involved the destruction of the little Ophir village and the people involved. When at noon Atem dismissed both council and soldiers to follow his usual routine, Yuugi realised he had only one chance to get Atem's attention and ensure he knew that something positively deadly had just happened right in front of him. And he had to catch Atem's interest swiftly; if Atem assumed the matter could wait until evening, all might be lost.

"Hey, you! Tenou the dragon is watching you!" Yuugi shouted in Japanese as Atem strode down the room. As he'd hoped, the words "Tenou" and "dragon" were a clear signal to Atem's ears, even though they - and their context - must surely sound like so much foreign gibberish to those around him. Atem was already turned and on his way back, his attitude that of an indulgent parent. The Ophirite soldiers were turning with him. Atem waved them back.

"He has such fits from time to time - harmless, but he can go on for hours if not stopped promptly," Yuugi heard Atem say. "If you'd be so kind as to go with the council, I shall join you presently."

Yuugi bounced on his knees, afraid to make intelligent gestures, as Atem drew closer; though the soldiers were still at the other end of the room, they had not retreated out the door. At last Atem got on one knee beside him, his back carefully turned to block their faces from view.

"What is it?"

"I need to talk to you. And the council. Now. Before you get rid of the soldiers for the day," Yuugi said, his voice as low as he could manage. Atem's face grew serious.

"Important?"

"Extremely."

Atem put a hand on Yuugi's back. Yuugi recognised it as part of a pantomime; look at the pharaoh, comforting the halfwit slave he's leaving for only an hour. How stupid the boy must be! How indulgent the king!

"I have to go now," he whispered back. "And I may not be able to bring the entire council back with me at once. But if you can ensure your presence here in three-quarters of an hour, you will have the full attention of both myself and anyone I think can be spared from the banquet hall without arousing either their suspicions or their tempers."

Yuugi nodded. Atem did not nod back, but conveyed the impression of having done so all the same. He retreated to join the Ophirites, and Yuugi was left alone. Presently Idut came along to release him from his bonds. She led him by one wrist to the kitchen quarter, where she let him go and told him that when he was ready to return to the throne room, he must find her so she could escort him - Set's orders. Yuugi nodded. Then he hurried to the only bathroom anywhere near the kitchens. With that order of business taken care of, he washed his hands and ate a sliced cucumber with some bread. He wished for a piece of cheese, but there was no time. He found Idut and told her speed was of the essence. She led him swiftly through the shortest route back to the throne room, did up the shackles - which, Yuugi realised, were in fact of the sort that had no locks and were therefore practically useless - and slipped out of the room. Yuugi waited for Atem.

He wasn't waiting long. No more than three minutes had passed when Atem strode in. Set, Mahado, and Ankhnadin traveled in his wake. Atem sat on the floor with Yuugi; the others stood.

"Now, quickly, little Aibou - what news? Ankhnadin has a theory he wishes to hold against your observations."

"They're going to burn the city," Yuugi said. Mahado's eyebrows went up. So did Set's.

"You can't possibly think any group of men would be so stupid they'd attempt to burn a city that's built along a river, slave Aibou. We'd have the fire put out and their bodies lying in their own blood before they could even get outside the city."

"If you don't believe me, then you're the stupid one," Yuugi said. He was well aware that this was not the wisest course of action, and the gasp he heard from Mahado's direction confirmed that belief, but he was doing what was asked of him, and being ridiculed for it. Of course he was irritated. "Haven't you been listening to a word that dummy says? Going on about how dry it was coming here, and how close together the houses are, and how there's straw in the bricks – "

"An attempt to make conversation, slave Aibou. Hardly an inspired one, I'll grant, but nothing more than that. I asked you to be an extra listener for us today, not to be an alarmist. As I've said – this city is built along the Nile. They surely know how idiotic they'd be to attempt burning it." Set took a breath, clearly preparing for a rant. Ankhnadin swept an arm in front of him.

"Hold your tongue, Set. The boy speaks true." He tapped the Millennium Eye. "I saw the thought of burning clearly enough in the villain's mind." He turned his gaze on Yuugi. "Go on, boy."

Yuugi did, hoping Ankhnadin was not in the process of reading his own thought - that it was really rather rich of Ankhnadin to be calling anyone else a villain. "If they want to create confusion - and you know they do - then they'll act at night. _There's a full moon tonight_. They'll be able to see exactly what they're doing – they can just ride through the city with torches and set fire to everything without ever having to stop. People will be confused. They'll be afraid. They'll burn to death in their own houses, and the soldiers will get away in the dark while we're still trying to put out the fires. By tomorrow they'll have a head start on us, and even if we sent the fastest horsemen across the desert after them, we'd never catch them. They'd be putting more distance between our men and theirs with every minute that passed."

A glance moved around the group in front of him. Mahado nodded unwillingly. Ankhnadin ran a hand over his face.

"It makes sense, if they intend to inflict the greatest possible amount of damage. Our soldiers would stop them, of course. But getting them out of the way altogether might be better."

A look passed between Atem and Set. Atem raised his eyebrows briefly.

"I think I can handle this," Atem said at last. "I suppose it's a bad idea to base ideas of all on ideas of a few, but every true idiot I've ever run into has also been a complete coward if you only know where to push, and if the pattern holds true for this fellow, then I think I know precisely how to take care of it."

Set nodded. His face was reluctant, but he recognised the logic inherent in most of Atem's major decisions, and he would not stand in the way.

The doors at the far end of the room opened. Atem seated himself quickly, his fragmented council assorting itself around him and then becoming whole as the others entered. The soldiers followed behind, and Yuugi quickly arranged himself as stupid little Aibou, the senseless slave. The necessary pleasantries were conducted. Atem allowed the circuitous, circular banter to continue for perhaps twenty minutes before leaning back on the throne.

"I think, gentlemen, that it's quite clear we shall come to no agreement," he said. "You intend to remove from my city some forty persons who have fallen under my protection. I tell you that no man, woman, or child under my protection will be removed from it without my explicit permission, which you do not have. You may pass the message to your king."

The Ophir captain nodded, his face tight. He began to turn away.

"Just a moment."

The captain turned back. Atem leaned forward on the throne. His hand dangled next to Yuugi's shoulder.

"I tell you further that should you attempt to act in any manner to the contrary - should you, for example, attempt to burn this city to the ground - I will raise every hand in this country, including my own, against you, and against your country. Your king will hear the news when your ashes carry it to his ears, because all that remains of you will be your skull, and I shall take the deepest pleasure in using it as a wine-bowl."

Atem did not glare; he didn't have to. His gaze, steady and unsettlingly red, was enough. "If you and your men are not ten miles from this city by nightfall, I can assure you that your fate will make you wish you had never entered it. And should you raise a hand against any of my people in any city, town, or village as you return to your own country, you will find that there is nowhere on this earth that will hide you from the curse I will lay on your very souls, and no spell you can cast that will protect you from the fate it entails, which will make you scream for death as a mercy."

The Ophirite captain turned pale.

"Have we an understanding?"

The captain licked his lips. "Perfectly, Pharaoh."

"Then go."

The captain turned. Then he turned back with a loud shout.

Forever afterward Yuugi would find it impossible to say precisely what happened; it was all simply too fast. He saw the captain draw his sword, and felt Atem rising to his feet. Yuugi jumped up and in front of him, arms spread. There was the click of metal on metal, a loud noise something like the world's largest mosquito being fried in a proportionately-sized bug zapper, and a flash of dark light. This was followed by an agonised yell and the sound of two heavy somethings, one a good deal larger than the other, hitting stone. Yuugi shut his eyes against the light, still expecting every moment to feel cold metal sliding through him. Something else heavy landed on Yuugi's feet. Then the light was gone. He opened his eyes.

The body of the Ophirite captain lay on the ground in front of him, his sword perilously close to having cut right into Yuugi's ankles as he fell. Set was holding his left arm, hanging limply by his side, with his right. His face was a study in shock; opposite him, Mahado's lips were peeled back from his teeth in an almost inhuman snarl.

_If I ever get the urge to piss off Mahado, remind me about this, okay?_

**I'm pretty sure you have more common sense than that. Look down.**

Yuugi glanced down at the body again, feeling slightly sick as he did. He could see lines in the stone beneath the body, and they were lines he knew had not been there that morning. Yuugi saw, just as one of the still-standing soldiers did, the Millennium Rod lying by the man's hand. Yuugi ducked forward and picked it up in a single graceful motion, the sword falling off his feet to clatter on the floor, before the soldier could take even a single step toward it.

Something very much like a dry electric shock ran up Yuugi's arm, and he resisted the urge to drop the Rod even as the hair on his arms and neck stood on end. He had the feeling Set had already taken the brunt of the charge; certainly it would explain the look on his face. Yuugi set his grip on the Rod; he had very little idea how to use it, but if all else failed he could in theory use it to crack a few heads with. He saw a nick near the knob at the head of the Rod, and recognised it for exactly what it was: an injury caused by Set swinging the Rod with all his strength into the Ophirite captain's sword, deflecting it from Atem's body.

With the Rod in Yuugi's hand, the soldiers began to back up, leaving the dead body to lie on the floor. Atem brushed past Yuugi gently and faced down the men.

"If any of those imprisoned in this disgusting farce still survive, send them to me, and ensure their sending is done properly, that I may see them stand where you stand now."

The soldier who'd tried for the Rod nodded his acknowledgement. He was very pale.

"I will give your message to our king," he said. His voice sounded like the voice of a man who, when all this was over, was going to give up being a soldier and devote the rest of his life to working with the poor or weaving blankets.

"See that you do." Atem gestured toward the door. The remaining soldiers filed out quickly; no pace could be too fast for them, it seemed. Atem watched them go. Then he glanced to his left and put a hand on Mahado's arm. There was a tense pause. Atem leaned closer. Yuugi saw his lips move in the barest edge of a profile, forming Mahado's name quietly. Mahado's shoulders fell, and he took a deep breath. Yuugi sat down on the edge of the throne. His legs suddenly did not want to hold him up.

"Apologies, Great - "

"Enough," Atem cut in. "You have nothing to apologise for."

Mahado hesitated, then nodded briefly. Atem shared a hug with him.

"So," Yuugi heard Set say, his voice pale but steady. "So. What, precisely, is this curse you plan to lay on these men that will make them scream for death as a mercy?"

Atem started to laugh. Then he turned around and threw his arms wholeheartedly around Set's shoulders, minding his left arm. It still did not seem to be completely under Set's control. Set raised the one arm he was currently capable of using and hugged back.

"Thank you, brother," Yuugi heard Atem whisper. Set's answer was likewise quiet, but honest.

"Anytime."

Anyone who wanted to see the true measure of the two men, Yuugi thought, had only to see them in that moment. This was their friendship as it was when unhampered by embittered, homicidal relatives and magical wars. It was the kind Yuugi had once made a wish for, strong and deep. The embrace ended when Ankhnadin pushed his way forward. Yuugi felt a deep wave of hatred for him, and then an even deeper wave of sorrow as Ankhnadin began to examine Set's arm with great care, testing to see if Set could feel his hand and the touch of someone else's fingers against his arm. Embittered? Yes. Homicidal? Most definitely. But not heartless, at the very least in regard to his son, and it became that much harder to despise him utterly. Set pulled away when Ankhnadin reached his hand.

"Son of a fucking _bitch_ that hurt," he hissed, clearly mindless of his surroundings. As his hand pulled out of Ankhnadin's grasp Yuugi could see clearly that two of his fingernails had turned black, as though he'd hit them with a hammer. Mahado approached him, concerned, and picked up the examination where Ankhnadin had left off. Set tried to drag his hand away again. Atem put a hand on his back to stop him.

"What is it?"

"Magical feedback," Mahado answered. "The Rod must have been in contact with that fellow at the same time I used the Ring." He turned Set's hand over and pressed a thumb deep into his palm. If Set had been less self-possessed, Yuugi thought he would have screamed. Certainly his face twisted in a manner that could indicate nothing but serious pain.

"There's nothing to be done but let it heal itself," Mahado said at last. "It could take a few days, but it should be all right if you only leave it alone for awhile. The nails will have to grow out again, of course, but it's a small enough price to pay. If you hadn't dropped the Rod, it might have killed you."

"This," Ankhnadin cut in, "is why we have _planning_, Mahado. To prevent things like this."

Yuugi saw the flush on Mahado's face and decided he didn't like it very much. The battle had been won but tensions were still high, adrenaline racing, everyone ready to snap. If someone - preferably a neutral party - didn't do something about it right now, these men were going to go after each other with extremely powerful and highly dangerous magical artifacts in their immediate possession.

"Um."

Attention shifted to him almost instantly. Yuugi tried not to feel claustrophobic under the sudden onslaught of eyes. He held up the Rod. "I, um - what should I do with this?"

Siamun reached around Ankhnadin and Karim and took the Rod out of Yuugi's hands. "I'll take care of it for the present." He tucked it carefully away in his belt. "Your presence of mind is to be commended, Aibou."

Atem turned around and saw Yuugi still perched gingerly on the edge of the throne. He smiled widely.

"And to you, little Aibou, we may owe Egypt's still being in our hands tomorrow." And he pulled Yuugi off the throne and kissed him firmly on the cheek.

Had Yuugi only stared at Atem when he pulled away, things might have turned out much differently. Instead he blushed - a faint but distinct rosy flush that spread over his cheeks and across his nose. Atem made an amused kind of sound and turned back to the rest of the council.

"I find myself to be of the personal opinion that we should call someone to take care of this - " Atem pointed to the corpse lying on the floor - "and then see what's to be done with the ba beneath it. Following which, I believe our duties for the day have been carried out most fully, and we can dine together this evening in celebration."

There was a general murmur of approval. Ankhnadin shuffled out in his usual half-broken manner, saying something about retrieving the soldiers whose original purpose had been Atem's protection. Yuugi sat down again on the floor. The chains attached to his arm and leg rattled. Set moved to take them off - lockless they were, but also impossible to open one-handed - and hissed again when he forgot himself and tried to use his left hand. Isis knelt beside him and pushed him away gently.

"Let me."

Set hesitated, then fell back to allow her in. Isis' fingers found the thin groove that marked the edge of the shackle and pulled the edges apart. She followed the same procedure on Yuugi's ankle. Yuugi bowed his head to her. She put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"It's we who should be thanking you," she said. Yuugi nodded. He personally disagreed - he had been set a task, and he had only done his best to fulfil it - but if they wanted to see it that way, he would not attempt to argue them out of it. Isis stood. Yuugi took the time to rub his wrist and ankle - the chains had, true to Set's word, been light, but still unpleasant - and so when he stood up himself he was just in time to see the unfortunate Ophirite captain's body being lifted from the floor. He saw the ba imprisoned in the many cobbled stones beneath and had to fight down a sick wave of hysterical laughter.

_So_ that's_ why Kuriboh breaks into pieces when you hit him._

Yuugi swayed slightly on his feet. There was something horrible about realising fully for the first time that a card he'd played a hundred times with no thought at all had been based on the soul of a real man - a real man who, apparently, had been killed by the Dark Magician. Yuugi found a great deal of irony in this. Atem glanced at him.

"Are you all right, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded. He didn't feel all right. He felt, in fact, like he was about to faint. Atem seemed to recognise this, because he waved Yuugi toward the door. Yuugi slipped out gratefully and made his way to the kitchens, where he drew himself a bowl of beer and drank it. It had been quite the reminder that though the men around him intended the best for their country and their people, wanted to create peace and goodwill throughout the country . . . they were also killers, one and all. Every single one of them had taken part, some more than others, in the entrapment of souls as a form of justice. And did the punishment fit the crime?

Maybe, in some cases. But in all?

Possibly, but Yuugi didn't believe it.

* * *

"You're back."

Yuugi nodded abruptly and looked down at his hands. There was no game of checkers in front of him tonight. His stomach growled and, perversely, also told him that any attempt to put something in it would result in the ugliest kind of rebellion. He hadn't bothered trying to eat dinner. Atem sat down on the side of the bed.

"Something troubles you, little Aibou."

Yuugi nodded again.

"Will you tell me?"

Yuugi was silent. When at last he spoke, the words spilled out of him like a damp firework.

"All those tablets. They were all men once."

Yuugi had expected Atem to perhaps grow defensive, argue that all had been done for the good of the country, and he was surprised to discover that no such defensiveness was forthcoming.

"Yes."

"But _why_? Why do you have to – " Yuugi cut himself off and shook his head. Atem took his hands.

"It's not a duty I take lightly, little Aibou," Atem said. "Many of the oldest tablets contain the ba of those I told you of before – those who invaded this country and terrorised the people. The woman we met the day we visited the temple was the victim of such. The rest, it's true, are mostly people of this country. My people, little Aibou, are my family – my brothers, my sisters, my children. But like any member of a family who wields authority, when they go astray . . . it is my job to chastise them. It is not a pleasant duty, but without it, there could be no order in this land."

"So to keep order you kill people?" Yuugi found this explanation highly unsatisfactory. He also found it both morbid and disturbingly totalitarian.

"It is the greatest responsibility of those who wield these items – " Atem touched the God Pyramid – "to understand the balance of Ma'at. There are many crimes, little Aibou, that I have forgiven. It would be madness, for instance, to condemn to this fate an orphaned child who stole a loaf of bread. But in some cases, there is no alternative. A man forgiven may strike again. A man imprisoned may escape. It's not a duty I enjoy. You must understand this. I will confess to feeling no pity whatsoever for those who are condemned to this fate, but truly, little Aibou – the tomb robbers, the murderers, the rapists – all could have chosen a different path." He paused, shook his head, sighed. "If I appeared callous this afternoon, I apologise. I take no joy in waste of life. But that man – "

Yuugi waited while Atem paused to collect his thoughts. At last Atem's fingers touched the side of the Pyramid again.

"Do you know what this does, little Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head. "Kind of. Not really."

"Its primary purpose," Atem said, "is to allow the wearer to judge, truly and fairly, those who pass before him. To such an end it employs a limited kind of telepathy – something similar to the powers of the Millennium Eye, but not quite as powerful. And I assure you, that man received more mercy than was his due." Atem sighed. "To have such knowledge, little Aibou, is more curse than blessing. To see, and judge, at every turn . . . I could scarcely look at him for disgust."

Yuugi looked down at his hands. He couldn't quite get rid of the mental image of Mahado's face twisted in that savage glare, and Atem's arms around his shoulders while the Ophirite captain's body lay collapsed on the floor at his feet. Atem ran his thumbs over the backs of Yuugi's hands.

"Can you understand, little Aibou?" There was a pause. "Or – "

Atem did not finish.

Yuugi tried to imagine seeing things the way Atem described – to see all a man's sins at every glance. He thought Atem might be exaggerating more than a little – if not so, then how had Ankhnadin gotten away with his devilish plot?

**Because he has one of the Items. You think he picked the Eye for himself by chance?**

Yuugi had to admit the sense in this line of reasoning. Even so, he was having a hard time imagining that what Atem said was true.

**Does it make a difference?**

The truly frightening thing, Yuugi thought, was that it did not. The idea that Atem's council were all professional killers terrified him . . . but it did not stop him from wanting to wrap his arms around Atem's waist and seek comfort. Even the knowledge that he could be next did not change the wanting.

"If you're too uncomfortable with this . . . this duty . . . I understand."

Yuugi was having a difficult time even trying to think. His stomach made another of its annoying, unsatisfied noises.

"Have you not eaten, little Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head.

"I couldn't." As a rule he wasn't _too_ squeamish about death – it had to happen to everyone, sooner or later, after all – but the actual physical part of the whole process scared him senseless. Having a man literally drop dead at his feet had been rather traumatic, to say the very least.

"Why don't you go get something?"

Yuugi shook his head. He wanted to eat – his stomach was practically screaming at him – but he knew perfectly well he'd never get anything down.

"I'll be okay."

Atem raised an eyebrow. The gesture was completely lost on Yuugi, who was once again looking at their hands, joined together on the blankets. Atem pulled his hands free of Yuugi's.

"I think not." He leaned back, and seemingly from nowhere he produced a pomegranate, which he put in Yuugi's hand. "Eat."

Yuugi did, nibbling at the seeds quietly and without protest. When he'd finished he put the rind carefully on the end table by the bed, to carry away later.

"Perhaps . . . it would be better if we forgot about this."

Atem's finger was resting on the jade bracelet.

"Is that what you want?"

"No." A pause. "I've never wanted anything less."

"Then don't be stupid. You asked for me, you're stuck with me." The words, though Yuugi spoke them, were not Yuugi's. It was as though New Yuugi had taken over his mouth for the space of two sentences. Yuugi had to admit that just this once, he didn't mind. Let New Yuugi make his mind up for him; Yuugi was still spinning from the complete incongruity of the situation in the throne room already that day.

The edge of Atem's mouth quirked. "Stuck, is it?"

"Absolutely."

The hands that slid around Yuugi's waist were gentle; had he not known what they were capable of, he would never have guessed.

_I'm fallen._

The thought had no real context; it was an idiom of the first water, the kind understood only by the one thinking it. Roughly translated, it might have been interpreted as Yuugi's belief that he was in the process of aiding and abetting a killer – not a murderer, no, there was a slight but distinct difference that even Yuugi could acknowledge, but bad enough even so.

And, let the gods help him . . . he didn't care.

* * *

_This is heaven._

The thought flitted through Yuugi's mind easily and without the slightest help from Yuugi's consciousness; said consciousness was currently being employed in a three-way game whose Egyptian name Yuugi had yet to master, but whose mechanics he recognised easily enough as pick-up sticks. Yuugi was watching closely as Set pulled a stick from the pile. There was no doubt who would win this game. Atem did not have the patience required for pick-up sticks – had managed, in fact, to win only two sticks so far - and Set already had far too much of a lead for Yuugi to beat him.

The pile of sticks shifted at last. Set took his small bundle of sticks and added them to the pile already next to him. Yuugi was trying to figure out how, even with one arm in a sling, Set managed to positively steamroller Yuugi and Atem both. Yuugi sighed and turned his attention to the pile of sticks. This particular game actually consisted of two games put together. Atem's stick set had been stored in the mysterious tube Yuugi had attempted to rescue from under Atem's bed, and Set stopped just short of being a complete neat freak, so of course when Atem had proposed a game Set had been able to lay hands on his own copy of the game in a matter of seconds. With the three of them playing, it made for a nice, long game.

The only problem with playing with two sets of sticks was that it would fall to Yuugi to sort them out when the game was done. Normally he wouldn't have cared – both sets were painted, Set's green and Atem's blue, and therefore were easy to tell apart – but they were also large, each set comprising forty or fifty sticks. Yuugi tried to block out the banter that was flowing around him – Set and Atem seemed to take a particular kind of joy out of trash-talking each other, and had they been sitting in a video arcade Yuugi might have believed he was sitting between Honda and Jounouchi – and began his work on the pile of sticks. He managed five before the pile shifted. Atem took his turn, getting exactly one, and then it was time for Yuugi and Atem to simply watch Set decimate the remaining pile.

It was as Set was taking his tenth or eleventh stick from the pile that Atem's hand descended on Yuugi's, a cautious and gentle expression of affection, and it was at that moment that _this is heaven_ slipped into and out of Yuugi's mind in a matter of seconds. It was true; thus far nothing more than the most basic kinds of affection had been asked of him, and he was enjoying those kinds of affection immensely. More – Set had accepted Yuugi into his daily interactions with Atem without asking a single question, and Yuugi knew perfectly well what that meant. Akana hadn't lied. He'd fallen under the protection of the council – one member of it, at the very least – and would be afforded the same kind of security as Atem himself. Yuugi turned his hand over. Atem's fingers twined through his. Set took another stick from the pile. Then he stopped. He looked as though he were trying to remember something highly important.

"What time is it?"

Atem shrugged. Set tried again.

"How long would you say we've been sitting here?"

Atem shrugged again. "An hour, perhaps. Maybe a little more."

Yuugi did not know the next word that came out of Set's mouth, but recognised it all the same as some version of "shit." Set got to his feet in a single fast, fluid motion.

"I have to go."

"What about your – "

"Just drop them off in my room. I should have been out of here half an hour ago. I'll see you later." And he was gone.

"Are you forfeiting, then?" Yuugi heard the playful tone in Atem's voice and knew it for Atem trying, as Jounouchi might have said, to do some serious chain-yanking before he let Set go. Set's head appeared back around the corner of the door.

"Atem?"

"Mmm?"

"Fuck you." And he disappeared again.

Yuugi sat patiently while Atem positively roared with laughter. Only Atem, Yuugi thought, could find humour in being sworn at. Then again, only Set would have the guts to say "fuck you" to the pharaoh. At last Atem quieted, and Yuugi pulled his hand away from Atem's to pick up where Set left off.

"I should see if I can't get a set of these made for Meri," Atem murmured, in the voice of a man who has many things to do and only so much time to do them. "He enjoys this game."

Since their conversation on the night Yuugi had agreed to Atem's proposal, he'd become increasingly aware that Atem never referred to his dead relatives in the past sense. He still spoke of them as living, breathing people, which Yuugi found more than a little creepy. He understood it, of course – Egyptian belief held that after death and the reawakening of the senses, the _akh_, a form of the soul, could walk among the living if it chose - but even so, the way Atem referred to them scared him a little. Death all by itself was not one of Yuugi's favorite subjects. Death when combined with a man who sometimes spoke as though completely unaware that his relatives were, in fact, dead and gone was worse. It was as Yuugi was thinking this that the stick pile shifted. Atem plucked up the last three sticks easily and counted up. Yuugi had beaten him almost four to one, and Set, of course, had beaten them both.

"Tomorrow, little Aibou, I won't be here. You're to stay in the kitchens unless one of the council wants you."

"Okay." Curiosity overtook Yuugi at last. "Where are you going?"

"With Shemei, to take care of the things Meri needs now."

Yuugi repressed a shiver. Again with the present tense. Yuugi thought of the approaching funeral with something that was not quite outright dread. He wondered if it would be rude to change the subject, and then decided he didn't care. He didn't want to think about Merishu, cold and hard and wrapped in many bandages, and how maybe three thousand years from now somebody would find his tomb and open it and he'd still be there, little Meri in his linen wrappings that would preserve perfectly his child's hands and feet and everything right down to the shape of his lips and nose. Let Atem scold him - Yuugi couldn't deal with this conversation.

"Where was Set going so fast?"

The edge of Atem's mouth quirked.

"To see Idut, most likely. It's the weekend, after all."

Yuugi rolled his eyes without even thinking about it. Atem gave him a _look_.

"Have you something to say about it, Aibou?"

"Only just that if he actually wants to impress her he might think about actually, you know, being on time."

This time the look did not bode trouble. "Why exactly do you think he's meeting with her, little Aibou?"

Yuugi shrugged. "Courting?"

Atem shook his head. "Never think it. He's teaching her to read. Perhaps figures, as well, but I think reading is his main concern at the moment."

Reading! Something Yuugi would never have thought of in a million years. In Japan he'd simply taken it for granted that he could pick up a book or manga any time he chose, and here he'd taken it for granted that there was nothing to read, and therefore no good reason to learn how. Not any better than he already could, at any rate.

"Why?"

Atem sighed. "Shemei's mentioned that the work is getting too much for her, and she's wanting for help. Idut seemed the logical choice to assist – and, perhaps, eventually take over."

Yuugi had a mental image of Idut and Shemei squaring off in G.I. Joe clothes. "What do you mean, take over?"

"Shemei isn't young, little Aibou. Someday – and sooner, I fear, rather than later – she will leave us and rejoin Merishu. When that time comes, someone must be able to take her place. I have the distinct feeling her talk of needing help is really her way of ensuring a smooth transfer of authority when she crosses into the afterlife." Atem looked sad, but not horribly so. Shemei, at least, had thus far been immune to whatever curse it was Atem thought he carried, and Yuugi imagined that was Atem's real concern – that Shemei, after all her faithful service, should be allowed to die peacefully in her sleep, knowing her final duties had been fulfilled. Yuugi squirmed. Death seemed to be everywhere today.

"But in any case, such is the reason for their presence together. I sincerely doubt Set takes any such interest in her." Atem's mouth quirked again. "Although, little Aibou, strictly between you and I – I believe _she_ may have something of such an interest in _him_."

"Does he know?"

Atem shrugged. "I haven't seen any reason to relieve either one of them of their respective world views in regard to each other. It seemed such an action would cause more harm than it would benefit, especially now. I suppose a different teacher could be arranged, but I sincerely doubt she'd do half as well under anyone else's tutelage. In any case, it's truly none of my business." _Or yours,_ his tone seemed to say.

Yuugi began sorting out the sticks into separate piles, green and blue. The silence was first slightly embarrassed, but slowly became more comfortable. Until Atem spoke again.

"Merishu is to be interred next week."

Yuugi nodded. Apparently getting away from the conversation was impossible.

"I'll have to go to the tomb for the day." There was a pause. "I wondered if, perhaps, you would go with me."

Yuugi's mind froze. To have to see Merishu again – see him lowered into the coffin, and the death mask placed over his face – the ceremonies, where a priest would ensure Merishu's senses were re-awakened in the afterlife –

"Little Aibou?" Atem's voice seemed very far away.

"Um, yeah. Sorry. I – sure. If you want. I can – " Yuugi was aware that he was babbling and tried to make himself stop. He didn't remember his father's funeral – if he'd even gone; five years old might have been considered too young – but he most certainly remembered his grandmother's, and just the thought of going to another one was all but paralyzing. And to attend one for a child, a little child –

Atem's hand descended on his. "Shemei expressed a desire to go. If you were to stay and carry out her duties for a day, she could. I know you're capable of such – I've been told you've done it before."

Yuugi felt a wave of relief and guilt wash over him. Relief that perhaps he wouldn't have to go after all; guilt because –

"But – you wanted me to go. I mean – " Yuugi shrugged and shook his head, trying to explain without having to say so that he was completely lost. Atem's fingers curled around Yuugi's palm and caressed it.

"You look distressed, little Aibou."

Yuugi looked down. "I'm sorry. I just – I mean, if you want me to go, I will. I shouldn't be – "

"It shouldn't frighten you. The dead are not, after all, truly dead – it's only their bodies we see and weep for. But if such is upsetting to you, I wouldn't force you to go through it." There was a pause. "Have you seen it before, little Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head. "Not exactly. I don't remember my dad's funeral. I'm not even sure I was there. I was kind of young, I think. And my grandmother's funeral was . . . really different. I mean, we have different ceremonies, and stuff." Yuugi had hated his grandmother's funeral. Everyone kept saying how much she'd looked like herself, which Yuugi, then only nine years old, had thought fundamentally _dumb_. She didn't look like herself at all, not in the stupid fancy dress and powder and makeup they'd put her in. In nine years Yuugi didn't remember her having ever worn makeup even once.

Mutou Laura, once Laura Cook of Ireland, had not been a makeup kind of person. In the casket her hair had been too perfect, her fingernails too clean, and even if she hadn't been almost skeletal from the cancer the dress would have looked wrong on her. It was the first time Yuugi could ever remember her in a dress. She and Jii-chan had even gotten married in blue jeans. The Mutou Laura in the casket had not been the funny, tomboyish Mutou Laura who would dig worms in the backyard to take Yuugi fishing. She'd been a complete stranger. It was the business of funeral directors and morticians, Yuugi had decided that day, to lie.

Merishu wouldn't be visible – what would be seen would be his face imprinted in gold, and his little body in linen – but Yuugi's ideas of what funerals entailed told him enough to know it would be more of the same, different customs or no. Merishu's face in the mask would not be laughing little Meri. It would be some kind of serene, godlike interpretation of his face that had no more to do with the real Merishu than Yuugi had to do with the king of Ophir. It would not be the Merishu Yuugi wanted to remember.

And then there would be the body, made bigger by all its layers of wrappings. Yuugi wasn't sure he could deal with that. Nor was he sure he could deal with the celebrations and ceremonies that would be taking place in the city – the celebrations of Merishu's life and death and the ritual mourning, people crying and screaming and pulling at their hair and clothes. Some of these mourners would be professionals, women hired for the purpose. Some of them would be average citizens. And a very few of them might actually have known the little boy they were mourning for.

Yuugi brushed his hair out of his face. Atem reached for his free hand.

"This is stupid," Yuugi said suddenly, and he meant it. "I'm just being dumb. I mean, you're right. I shouldn't be afraid. I should be the one supporting _you_, not the other way around."

Atem's smile was sad, but genuine. "You do yourself an injustice, little Aibou." He squeezed Yuugi's hand. Yuugi squeezed back. "You've respected the choices I've made even when I know it can't have been easy for you, and you haven't uttered a word of complaint – quite to the contrary, I have yet to hear anything from you but commiseration and understanding. Whether you realise it or not . . . that's been a great source of comfort for me." He closed his eyes and sighed. "It's not easy being the one on top of everything."

Yuugi hugged him. Atem hugged back, hard. Yuugi rubbed his back gently. At last they pulled apart. Atem brushed Yuugi's hair out of his eyes – it was getting too long and unruly for even Yuugi's clip to hold back – and smiled at him.

"So what say you, little Aibou? Will you take Shemei's place so she can join me?" Atem leaned forward just a little. "I should warn you it's likely to be quite the task. We'll be celebrating in the evening."

Yuugi smiled back. "That's okay. I can do it."

* * *

Yuugi pushed his hair out of his eyes and followed Atem down the hall. He'd left the celebrations early and made for his room, and Yuugi wanted to be sure he was all right. For Atem, there had been no such thing as real grieving; even while walking to the burial site – and he had insisted on going on foot instead of by horse – his eyes would have remained dry, shoulders set. At most he might have bowed his head. It would have been considered unseemly for him to act otherwise. Grieving he was, but he was also the pharaoh, and at all times a certain public decorum was expected of him. Now the ceremonies were over, Atem back in the refuge of the palace, and now he would mourn. Now he would let himself feel the things he'd been holding back. Yuugi could only imagine how hard it might be, and he thought that given his idiotic inability to stand by during the ceremonies themselves, he owed it to Atem to go to him now.

He caught up with Atem at the foot of the stairs and reached for his hand. Atem turned to him, puzzled.

"Little Aibou?"

Yuugi shuffled his feet. This would have been much easier if only he'd actually gone to the tomb.

"I just – I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Atem's smile was sad, really nothing more than an automatic bending of the corners of Atem's mouth. It was the first time Yuugi thought of Atem's smile as his armour against the world, and the thought hurt. "I will be."

"Do you want anything?"

Atem shook his head. "Only to be alone for a time."

Yuugi nodded and left without hugging him. He should have gone. He really should have gone. Now it was too late. Maybe Atem didn't blame him, but Yuugi knew that inside he'd always blame himself at least a little.

Even so, his task was set. And so he turned around, returned to the banquet hall. When questioned by some of the council, he told them what Atem had told him: that the pharaoh was just fine, and only wished to have some solitude. He managed to dissuade them from following Atem and asking their awkward, well-meaning questions. He completed his tasks for the evening.

And went to bed, alone.

* * *

For Yuugi, the next two weeks were pure torture. Atem sat in the throne room twice, both times for trials. At all other times he remained more or less out of sight, praying, taking long and solitary walks, sitting in the back courtyard. Sometimes at night Yuugi would hear him crying. Nobody approached Atem about his sudden reticence – not even Set or Mana. They simply let him alone. On a few occasions Atem didn't appear in the kitchens to eat, and at those times Yuugi took a tray to his room with bread, fruit, and wine. Late in the night he returned for the tray and always found it sitting outside the door, waiting for him. At least Atem was eating, Yuugi thought on these occasions. It could have been worse. This was a kind of grieving so complete and fundamentally deep that Yuugi couldn't even begin to comprehend it. He could only hope Atem would snap out of it, sooner or later.

After a fortnight Yuugi simply couldn't take it anymore. He finished his chores and went directly to Atem's room, disregarding utterly the smear of dust he knew was smudged across one cheek and the few ashes he hadn't been able to brush from his hands. He needed answers, and he needed them _now_. He knocked on Atem's door, and when Atem quietly told him to come in, Yuugi did. Atem was sitting on the floor instead of the bed, holding the rag doll he'd gotten from the little Ophirite girl. Yuugi sat down next to him and jumped right to the question he wanted to ask, without bothering with preamble.

"Are you okay?"

Atem sighed, closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the bed. Then he opened his eyes and turned his face toward Yuugi's.

"I am, little Aibou. Grieved, but neither ill nor suffering from such maladies of the mind so deep as to induce me to take more drastic measures to combat them."

Yuugi thought this might be a very roundabout way of Atem's saying he wasn't suicidal. If so, it was a good sign. If not, then Yuugi was clueless. He hoped he was guessing right.

"I just – nobody's seen you, really, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Atem nodded. "I think perhaps I'll return to the throne the day after tomorrow." Yuugi reached for his hand, curled his fingers gently around Atem's palm, caressed the back with his thumb. Atem squeezed Yuugi's hand. Yuugi squeezed back. "I appreciate your concern, little Aibou." His smile was tired, but genuine. "Now is the time when I need you."

Yuugi wrapped his arms around Atem's waist. Atem set the doll carefully aside, slid his own arms around Yuugi, and buried his face against the side of Yuugi's neck. No tears were forthcoming this time - only a heavy kind of tiredness that spoke of a need for someone else to be strong and take charge for a little while. Someone to hold him and let him rest. Yuugi stroked his hair, rubbed his back, pulled him close and cuddled him. Eventually Atem shifted, his head coming to rest on Yuugi's shoulder. He sighed deeply. Yuugi knew he probably shouldn't – might come across as mocking Atem when that was anything but his intention – but he couldn't help himself. There were very few people Atem could actually be human with; Yuugi wanted to make sure Atem knew he was one of them.

"Don't need a shoulder to cry on right now?"

He'd expected a shake of the head, or maybe anger. What he didn't expect was a tired chuckle.

"No, little Aibou. Contrary to what you may believe, I don't make a habit of weeping into my beloved's lap. Although I can certainly see where the confusion may come in. I did make rather an ass of myself, didn't I?"

It was the first time Atem had ever used any kind of pet name for him other than the usual "little Aibou," and it took Yuugi a moment to process before he answered.

"Nah. I kind of figured you needed it." He paused. "Everybody has a breaking point somewhere." Given that Atem had been facing both the prospect of foreign invasion and the burial of his last known relative, Yuugi hadn't been entirely surprised when the sudden and unexpected good news had been too much for him. He twined his fingers through Atem's and, hoping he wasn't pushing it _too_ much, raised Atem's hand to his mouth for a soft kiss. Atem touched the side of his face. They sat that way for several seconds, simply looking at each other, and then Yuugi started to giggle. Atem followed suit, looking confused even as he rested his forehead on Yuugi's shoulder. Finally Yuugi was able to stop.

"Sorry. I don't do serious very well."

Atem chuckled.

"I'd noticed."

Yuugi blushed. Atem brushed Yuugi's fringe out of his face. Yuugi hesitated, then decided he might as well.

"Is this the correct time?"

Atem also hesitated. "My heart still grieves . . . but I think now that perhaps it always will. And perhaps such means that there is no correct time, only a time that may be more correct than others."

Yuugi paused to consider this. Then he shook his head.

"I don't believe that."

"Then what do you believe, little Aibou?"

Yuugi was silent for several moments, trying to shape his thoughts. At last he began.

"When I was in school, we learned about this artist named Picasso. He was from Spain," Yuugi added, before Atem could ask. "That's a country that's kind of near England. Anyway – Picasso was this really great, really influential painter, but he didn't start painting his own work until one of his friends was killed in this really awful accident. And the stuff Picasso did while he was still grieving – a lot of people think that's the best work he ever did."

"Do you intend instruction in this story, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded. "Picasso loved to paint, but he didn't discover just how much he loved it – that he had this really great talent and he could do this really beautiful stuff all on his own – until after he had this big personal tragedy. I think maybe you can't really know what it means to be really honestly happy until you know what it means to be really honestly sad. And when you finally know that – that's the correct time. When you can recognise that there's always going to be bad stuff – stuff that really gets you down – but you can be happy in spite of the bad stuff. That the two of them can go together, and there's nothing really weird about that." Yuugi paused. "Or maybe there's no correct time at all, really, in the whole big picture – more correct or less correct or any of that. Maybe it's just that your heart knows what it wants, and when it wants it, that's it. You can sit there and talk until you're blue in the face about how it's not the correct time or how it's not appropriate for this reason or that reason, but if your heart wants it . . . you can't make it stop wanting just because other people think it shouldn't want what it wants."

Atem considered this. "I think perhaps there's a great deal of truth in what you say, little Aibou." He paused. "There are a great many people who would say I'm quite in the wrong because my heart wants you, instead of some official's daughter."

Yuugi shrugged. He couldn't quite keep the smile off the edges of his mouth. It wasn't the dinner-and-a-movie kind of relationship he'd spent most of his teenage years looking forward to, but what of that? He was beloved. He was wanted. And what was asked of him was the thing he was best at – only to love in return, without reservation or conditions.

Atem was hesitating, looking down at their hands joined together between them. Yuugi raised one of his own automatically to flick the long blonde fringe out of Atem's face. Their eyes met.

When Atem kissed him it seemed the most natural thing in the world to lock his fingers together behind Atem's neck and kiss back, and when Atem nipped gently at Yuugi's lower lip before pulling away, Yuugi wasn't at all surprised to find himself only just slightly disappointed that it hadn't gone on longer. His hands slipped from Atem's neck to his shoulders. Atem's palms rested just below Yuugi's elbows, a surprisingly intimate gesture almost like a long-distance hug. Yuugi leaned forward and slid his arms down to encircle Atem's waist once again, resting his head against Atem's chest.

_What the hell,_ he thought. He recognised the vocabulary as New Yuugi's even though the thought was his own, but just for now he was too content to protest. _Dinner and a movie's probably way overrated, anyway._


	17. A Knife in the Dark

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Oy! Peeps! It's Nina (again). Um, three things to address, two very fast and all very important (also, no frustrated!Nina, yay), before you move onto the story.

First up: my last note. I got apologies from a lot of people that that note was not addressed to, and I want to tell those folks I'm sorry for not being clear. I have no problem with a two-or-three line review that ends with "hope you update soon." To me that says "this is what I liked, and I want to read more." I can ride that wave. My problem isn't with you guys, and you have nothing to feel bad for if you're the kind of reviewer who makes "update soon" a closing line. My problem is with the folks who think my life revolves around this story, and only this story. And on that note . . .

There may not be a chapter next week. Before you start spazzing, I am _not_ giving up on this story. It's my baby. But, being a baby, it takes a lot of time and work, and quite frankly, I feel a bit frayed at the edges. So, I'm taking a short break from _Written in the Stars_ to work on a short azureshipping oneshot called _Claustrophobia_. You can probably expect your normal chapter updates to resume two weeks from now, after my mind's had a chance to recycle itself and rest a little. After you read this chapter, you'll probably understand, because . . .

WE HAVE BEGUN A NEW SUBPLOT. Actually, hints of it have been creeping in ever since Atem gave Yuugi the bracelet, but this is the official "start" (if there can be such a thing). Why am I bringing this up? Simple answer: this subplot – arc, if you like that term better – is a mystery. Now: _if you can figure out who did it (you'll know what "it" is soon enough), I'll write you a oneshot._ If you can figure out who did it _and what the motive was_, you get a WITS-related oneshot on the backstory incident of your choice.

I should warn you the motive won't be easy – getting it will require you to know your Millennium World arc canon, to try and think from the point of view of all possible suspects, and also to pay very close attention to dialogue for the next couple of chapters. I'll give you a couple of general clues and pointers in the author's notes because I really do want someone to get this, but don't expect a big flashing neon sign saying something like "KAIBA TOOK IT!!" because that's called spoon-feeding and it's very bad. You'll have to pay attention and use your head – as Basil of Baker Street says, "the slightest detail may be of importance." With that said, I'd advise that after you read this chapter you go back to the chapter in which Yuugi gets his bracelet and read everything from that point on, paying particular attention to the dialogue and to any fairish-sized chunks of exposition. That's your hint for this chapter. (And I promise that no, you really don't have to go any farther back than that.)

One final thing before I let you get on with your reading: please, _please_, if you're in school, do not put your studying off to try and solve a mystery about people who don't even exist. The perpetrator will likely not be revealed until the end of the story, because future readers may want to try to figure it out for themselves. (In stories, it's generally assumed that the ends will all be tied up; real life is not always like that, and neither is WITS.) You have plenty of time to figure it out, I promise. Meanwhile, please don't fail tests (or entire classes) over this story. If you are now sitting here going "I CAN'T SOLVE THIS NINA YOU SUCK," don't. Your turn will come. (Send me Kaiba/Yuugi fanart in the mails, that's always a good way to bribe me.) Just keep an eye on my profile page/LiveJournal. You never know when I might be in a generous mood.

And now. On to the story . . .

Nina

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 17/??  
**Author**: Nina/**technicolornina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 11 066  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **language**, **homosexuality**, **violence**, **graphic but (mostly) innocent kissing**, and **angst, yo**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Lots of spoilery things. Yuugi has a rival.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in all relevant countries, **both Yuugi and Atem are now above the age of statutory consent.**  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **my beautiful reviewers who understand the concept of actually reviewing.**

* * *

Set leaned back and shook his head. Mahado held up his hands and did the same.

"I give up."

Atem grinned. "You'll forgive me for saying I think that's so much nonsense."

Mahado and Set shrugged not quite as one – not quite as one because Set's shrug was still decidedly lopsided. Mana was grinning at Mahado just as Atem was.

"Aren't you the one who says you're never supposed to quit, no matter what?"

Mahado raised his eyebrows. "I believe I'm also the one who says the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. After five games we have yet to win, and I think it would be futile to continue."

"I beat him last month," Set protested. "Soundly. I vote for switching strategies."

"You forfeited," Atem argued. "Automatic loss."

"I never said I was forfeiting."

"You left. You forfeited."

"I left to fulfil my duties – duties, I might add, that _you_ conferred on me, and – "

Yuugi blocked out the foursome sitting in the back courtyard arguing over what seemed to be a modified, team-player version of senet, Atem and Mana versus Set and Mahado. Yuugi was here to pick apples, nothing more. For today, at least. Or rather, as far as Shemei and Idut were concerned he was here to pick apples. What he really wanted was to catch Mahado without Atem around. It was proving more difficult than it should be. He wondered if perhaps he wouldn't be better off asking Set or Siamun to snag Mahado for him. Maybe even Ankhnadin, who spent a fair amount of time talking to the magician. Yuugi'd gotten the vague idea that they were closer in age than they looked, though just how narrow the gap might be he had yet to determine.

"Slave Aibou."

Yuugi turned dutifully toward the group sitting in the courtyard. Mahado waved him over.

"Would you be so good as to fetch some beer?"

Yuugi nodded and made for the kitchens, a basket of apples on one hip. These would be put in the storeroom that only Shemei, Idut, and Atem had access to, the one with the sweetest wine, the fattest of grapes, and the best of everything else. There could be no doubt – Atem was nothing if not well-fed. Yuugi put the apples in a room from which Idut or Shemei would retrieve them, drew three bowls of beer, and added to them a larger bowl of peas for snacking. He put all on a tray and returned to the courtyard. Mahado thanked him and took his bowl. Yuugi passed the rest around, feeling decidedly like a hostess at a party. Atem snapped a pea pod, spilled out the peas, and handed Yuugi the rest. Yuugi munched on the pod contentedly as he returned to his work.

A small commotion broke out behind him. Yuugi listened in a half-interested way to the voices, determined that they belonged to Atem and Set, and promptly tuned them out. At some point Mahado's voice joined in, and Yuugi turned around to kibitz on the argument. Mahado was easily the least-argumentative of the entire council, almost to the point of being outright passive. This, Yuugi thought, could get very interesting.

Mana was sitting in the midst of the group with an expression that Yuugi had seen many times on Anzu's face. It was the facial-expression equivalent of the exasperated "men!" that Yuugi had heard so often in movies. Mahado was trying to stay between Atem and Set, who looked ready to go to blows. It would, Yuugi thought, be pretty close to a fair fight – Set had the height, the weight, and the training, but he was also short an arm, and Atem possessed a kind of hummingbird agility Set was totally lacking. Of course, it would also be Yuugi's duty to get between the pair and protect Atem, and he imagined he'd come out with bruises if it came to that.

It did not come to that. In the end, Set simply whirled around and stalked out. Mahado shook his head. Mana stared after him with a small amount of fascination.

"Do you know what I think?"

"That perhaps we'd do him a favor by locking some willing and attractive slave girl in his rooms? I must confess I've rather seriously been considering it."

Mana started laughing and rested her forehead against Atem's shoulder while her shoulders shook with hysterics. Mahado gave him a very soft version of The Look. Yuugi raised his hand automatically to hide his grin.

"It's not proper to say such things, Pharaoh."

Atem shrugged. "What do I care for being proper? Truth is more important than propriety." He raised an eyebrow. "Or perhaps you'd care to be the one dealing with him on a regular basis while he's in such a mood. It _is_ your fault he's incapacitated, after all."

Mahado also shrugged. "I find myself mystified at the length of his injury, I must admit. It should have healed long ago." The look on his face as he continued was reluctant. "Perhaps Ankhnadin was right. I may have overreached a bit."

The grin on Atem's face was dangerously droll. He grinned widely. "Perhaps we ought to lock _you_ in Set's rooms. Now that would be a show worth seeing." He spread his hands wide. "Come one, come all! First, the master took out all his frustrations on the student by magical means. Now, the student gets his revenge on the master by any means necessary. Place your wagers on who comes out with bruises!"

Mahado's cheeks flushed slightly. "You're positively incorrigible, Pharaoh."

"Stop calling me that. We're not in company."

Mahado's eyes flickered briefly in Yuugi's direction. Then he shook his head.

"If you say so, it must be so."

Atem snorted. Mana was glancing between them expectantly, like a girl watching a particularly exciting tennis match. Yuugi was fighting a fit of the giggles. Atem in a good mood was a great deal of fun to watch. Mahado's eyes flickered to Mana.

"And you should be back in the complex. Don't you have formulae to be memorising?"

Mana protested loudly. Mahado simply continued giving her the full-strength version of The Look. At last she left, shooting dirty glances at him the whole way out.

"You know, it's not such a crime to give her a full day away from her studies once in awhile."

Mahado continued to look away from Atem in the direction Mana had disappeared. "Consistent discipline breeds self-control and restraint. Self-control and restraint are the answer to overcoming all obstacles and temptations. And don't you roll your eyes at me," Mahado added irritably, turning back around at last and catching Atem in the act. "You know perfectly well I'm right."

Atem shrugged. Yuugi wondered if they were thinking the same thing: that Mahado was indulging in just a small amount of hypocrisy, given that last month he'd killed a man in hot blood. A man who was attempting to assassinate the pharaoh, yes, it was true – but it still counted as killing, as far as Yuugi was concerned. After all, Set had managed to deflect the Ophirite captain's sword, and probably could have had him in a full headlock had he been given another two seconds. Mahado's actions had really been quite unnecessary.

Yuugi could see the conversation drawing to a close and hurried to fill the rest of his basket so he would have a perfectly natural excuse for following Mahado back into the palace. He waited until he was out of Atem's earshot before hailing Mahado, mindful that he was probably breaking about a dozen rules. Mahado, however, was slightly more relaxed about rules than most of the council, and he turned readily to let Yuugi fall into step with him.

"Is there something you need, slave Aibou?"

Even in his hurry to ensure he was able to make his request before Atem could hear, Yuugi had the time to marvel at how Mahado and Siamun managed to make "slave Aibou" sound much friendlier than Set and Ankhnadin's versions of the same address. Mahado made it sound like a simple title; Ankhnadin made it sound almost like a threat. Yuugi nodded as he thought this.

"I – maybe I'm too late. But – if I'm not – I changed my mind. About that reward."

"Oh?" Mahado glanced at Yuugi as they reached the place where normally their paths would diverge. He turned to follow Yuugi to the storerooms. "And what is it you'd care to have?"

"This is going to sound kind of stupid, but – wood. Two pieces of it, flat, maybe about a quarter of a finger's-length thick. One piece a cubit square, and one piece . . . probably about from wrist to elbow. That long, that wide. Black paint. And a knife. One you can carve with."

Mahado looked puzzled. "Do you intend to make something, slave Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded. "Everyone keeps going on about how the pharaoh's birthday is this month, and I just . . . I feel kind of stupid not having anything for him. I mean, we're friends," Yuugi continued, bending the truth just slightly more than a little. "I should give him something."

Mahado shrugged. "He rarely accepts anything. I think he just enjoys the excuse to abandon the throne for a week and spend the entire time doing whatever he likes." A faint smile ghosted over his face before fading. "But if you'd care to offer him something, I'd be pleased to help you."

"Thanks."

"What kind of wood is it you care to have?"

Yuugi was stuck. The checkerboard he'd made for Jii-chan's Christmas a few years back had been pine and maple, the two softest, most forgiving woods he could find. Here neither of those would be available, and the woods native to Egypt were not of workable quality. He tried to remember the small amount of wood-related knowledge he'd picked up during the six months it had taken him to put together the checkerboard. Nothing came to him except for a faint image of the piano Anzu's mother kept in the parlour, the antique one with –

_real keys. That's what she calls them. Real keys. Made out of ivory and -_

"Not ebony," Yuugi said. "Probably not mahogany, either." Both would be too hard. Yuugi tried to think. What else did he know? Not much. Mutou Shigeru had enjoyed woodworking before he died, but it wasn't a talent his son had picked up in any more than average amounts. Yuugi tried to think of the projects he knew for sure his father had done. There was the bird-feeder that hung in Yuugi's cherry tree, and the pine bookshelf in the living room. He'd built the mailbox at the game shop. And something in Jii-chan's room. Yuugi tried harder to think of it, and it slipped away from him like a wet bar of soap.

_Okay, fine. You just take your time, you stupid old whatever it is you are. You're the wood I want. I know it._

And the thought came to him, perfectly and naturally, just as he'd known it would.

"How hard is it to get cedar?"

Mahado looked stymied. "Not too hard, I shouldn't think. Although it might necessitate a trip to the docks."

"Cedar would be great. Or something like it."

Mahado nodded. Yuugi felt a squirm of pleasure in his stomach. Provided he didn't screw up – and he would have to be very careful, because foreign woods were something of a luxury and he'd have to get everything exactly right the first time – this was going to be the best birthday gift Atem had ever had.

And it beat the hell out of the stupid old I-give-you-myself cliché.

* * *

Yuugi jumped.

Another of the things he'd noticed about Egypt was that people rarely knocked on doors; most rooms were public, and people passed through them freely. Visiting private rooms usually necessitated an invitation. And so when someone knocked on his door – softly, but a knock all the same – Yuugi started violently. The knife Mahado had procured for him slipped and stopped just short of Yuugi's finger.

"Whozit?"

"Only I, little Aibou."

Yuugi grinned. He should have known. Only Atem would be audacious enough to visit someone's room without permission. Not that Yuugi cared – in Domino it had been absolutely nothing for him to get home and find Anzu or Jounouchi sitting on his bed or flicking through his card binder – but of course Atem had no way of knowing that. Yuugi glanced down at the piece of cedar in his hands.

"Uh – hold on. Just a minute. Don't go anywhere." Yuugi swept up the cedar chips with his hands and wrapped them in a piece of scrap linen he'd taken, with Shemei's permission, from the kitchen quarter earlier that night. He put the knife on top of the wood pieces, and then shoved the whole thing under his mattress. Only then did he head for the door.

Atem looked hesitant. "I only wondered if perhaps I could join you for a short while this evening, little Aibou."

"Sure. You don't have to ask me for that. Come on in." Yuugi waved Atem into the room, vaguely aware that there was something slightly ridiculous about the pharaoh having to ask permission to go anywhere in his own palace.

**Because he considers this part of the palace yours. He's not going to just wander into your room any more than you would have just wandered into Jounouchi's when you first started hanging out.**

Yuugi had to confess that this argument seemed quite logical. New Yuugi crowed in triumph.

_Oh, shut up._

Atem sat down on the floor and looked around.

"Mahado doesn't lie, does he, little Aibou?"

Yuugi blushed. He had a fair idea what Atem was talking about – but no harm in making sure. "About what?"

"Your tastes are quite simple." He took in the bare walls, the small stack of personal possessions, the bed. "Even Set has matting on his walls."

"Hey, I wouldn't say no to matting." Yuugi happened to think the colourful painted mats that hung on most of the walls in the palace were gorgeous. "I just kind of figured they were all reserved for other people."

Atem smiled. "Not at all, little Aibou. Ask Shemei. I'm sure she can spare you two or three pieces." He produced a wooden tube. "Want a game?"

Yuugi supposed if Atem wanted to be mildly masochistic, he could go along. "Okay."

Atem spilled a set of red sticks out onto the floor and waited for Yuugi to take a turn. Yuugi moved slowly, concentrating a good deal harder than he had the last time he'd played. Then he and Atem had been only two players at least semi-united against Set, and the game had really been nothing but an excuse to spend some time in the day together; this time they were direct opponents, and Yuugi would not allow himself to be distracted.

The pile shifted. Atem examined the new configuration carefully, then began his move. He drew six sticks before it moved again. Yuugi drew four; Atem drew the same. Yuugi drew eight; Atem drew five.

"You know, I'm starting to get the impression you weren't trying very hard the last time I saw you play this," Yuugi said after three or four turns. Atem was not quite beating Yuugi – Yuugi still had a two-stick lead. But they were a good deal more evenly matched than the last time.

Atem grinned at him. "Whatever makes you say that, little Aibou?"

"You're getting more sticks in a single turn now than you did in the entire game last time." Yuugi leaned over the pile of sticks. "You know what I think? I think you played badly on purpose. I think you wanted Set to win."

Atem raised a single eyebrow. "Are you accusing me of losing deliberately, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded and grinned. "I _know_ you did."

"Oh, really."

"Yeah."

"And what brings you to this conclusion?"

"You just called me 'little Aibou.' If I was wrong, you would have called me 'slave Aibou' instead."

Atem raised his eyebrows in defeat.

"I think perhaps you're too perceptive for your own good." He grinned. "But you do speak true. In all these years, Set has yet to realise it's the only game he's ever beaten me at, and that in spite of my rumoured talent, I have yet to defeat him. Every once in awhile he starts to sulk. It's as effective a way as any to draw him out."

"Wow."

Atem raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You guys are really something else."

Atem made an indefinite kind of gesture that seemed to ask what Yuugi expected. "It's your turn, little Aibou."

Yuugi took his turn. Beneath him he could feel the vague shape of the knife, buried under the mattress. He only hoped the feather tick wouldn't shift.

Even with sixty sticks in the set, the game was over quickly – ten minutes at the most. They counted up. Yuugi finished first and had to stifle laughter. He waited for Atem to finish. He seemed to have finished counting, but he was still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Atem began to count again. Little wonder, Yuugi supposed – it was something he'd personally never seen, in spite of years of playing the game. He guessed it was only common sense that sooner or later it _would_ happen, but it still came as an amusing kind of shock.

At last Atem looked up. Yuugi held his thirty sticks up in a fan, grinning. Atem looked between the thirty in his hands and the thirty in Yuugi's, and started to laugh. Finally he wound down to chuckles.

"I seem to have found a worthy opponent at last." He leaned closer, grinning. "Don't tell anyone."

Yuugi grinned back. "Tell anyone what? That you're the worst player I've ever seen?"

Atem started to laugh again. "Oh, by all means tell them such, little Aibou." He kissed Yuugi softly, and the laughter on both sides stopped. He caressed the side of Yuugi's face. "I need to wake early tomorrow. I should probably leave."

Yuugi nodded. It had been a fifteen-minute visit at most, but still pleasant. He scooped up the sticks and dropped them back into the canister.

"Here – "

Atem shook his head. "No, little Aibou."

Yuugi was on the verge of protesting when the pieces clicked. "Wait. These aren't yours." Nor were they. The sticks they'd just played with were red. Atem's were blue.

"No."

"Then who – ?" Yuugi stopped, confused. Atem smiled at him.

"I told you once, little Aibou. I fully intend to court you properly."

To pay affections. Right. Yuugi blushed.

"You didn't have to – I mean, thanks, but I didn't need – "

"It's not about what you need, little Aibou. It's about what you would enjoy. If I intended to offer you gifts for your needs, I would have brought a blanket."

"Yeah, but – "

**Just shut up and take the gift, idiot. He's trying to do something nice for you.**

Yuugi smiled. It felt slightly strange on his face, too shy to belong to him. "Thanks." He leaned forward and hugged Atem tightly. Atem hugged back. Yuugi pulled away and set the canister carefully next to the small stack of things he called his. Atem frowned.

"You put your things on the floor, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded.

"That shouldn't be."

Yuugi shrugged. "That's what was here when I got here."

"I'll see about getting you a basket. I'd be quite grieved to wake one day and find you'd dressed while your clothes had a scorpion in."

Yuugi smiled again. This, at least, would be a practical gift. Practical gifts he was comfortable with. "Okay."

"Good night, little Aibou."

"G'night."

Yuugi watched Atem go. Then he pulled the wood and knife from under his tick and went back to carefully scoring the smaller board. He was finding the work more difficult than the board he'd built for Jii-chan, even though the mechanics were actually simpler. This was mainly because he had no ruler and extremely limited tools. He was quite proud of his compromises, though - most especially his pencil. Afraid to use ink – which would bleed, and could not be rubbed out if he made a mistake – Yuugi had set out to find something suitable for marking lines. After a few hours of careful thought, he'd taken a short trip to one of the slaves' courtyards with his knife and cut a thin branch from a sycamore tree. Then he'd gotten hold of a small oil lamp – which had doubled as a convenient light source while he worked in the evenings – and by way of holding the branch in the flame of the lamp for a few seconds at a time he'd managed to produce a makeshift pencil that wrote with soot instead of graphite. It had proved to be incredibly useful.

At last Yuugi set aside the board. He'd done what he could do for the night, and so he carefully set aside the boards with their soot markings, put the knife atop them, and blew out the oil lamp. He waited a few seconds, then pulled the wick from the oil. He'd grown up with electric lights and battery-powered lanterns for power outages, it was true, but Jii-chan hadn't raised any fools; Yuugi wasn't going to take the chance that the still-hot wick might decide to ignite and start a fire. He squeezed the oil from the wick back into the bowl in the moonlight that streamed through his window and wiped his fingers on his piece of linen cloth.

And went to bed, satisfied.

* * *

It was a Problem.

It fully deserved the capital letter; in fact, Yuugi wasn't entirely sure it shouldn't be in bold, as well.

"It" was the general reaction of the council to Yuugi's sudden change in status. Thus far no official announcement – or even an unofficial one – had been made, but Yuugi supposed the kiss Atem had given him the day of the Ophirite soldiers' audience spoke for itself. The response thus far had been anything but favourable. Set and Ankhnadin both continued to be their usual sour, reticent selves, but the reason for those reactions was split. Set didn't care one way or the other; Ankhnadin seemed to feel that though Atem was granted the pharaonic privilege of doing whatever he liked, he was somehow less of a man for his actions, and that Yuugi was simply a pest who'd fallen into his position by sheer luck . Siamun had grown slightly colder toward Yuugi, as though he felt the entire thing to be Yuugi's fault. Isis was staying uninvolved. Shada seemed somewhat disapproving, Karim markedly more so.

And then there was Mahado.

Yuugi had fully expected that from that quarter, at least, he could expect some sympathy. Mahado was easily the friendliest member of the council, and he took the strange and outright bizarre easily in his stride. He was also fiercely devoted to Atem, and Yuugi had thought he would as such subscribe to the same notion as Set – that any friend of Atem's was also his own. But Yuugi had also managed to forget his earlier suspicions about just why Mahado was so completely committed. He'd left plain old-fashioned jealousy – and possibly rivalry, as well - right out of his expectations. And so he spent several days completely bewildered before realising that though Mahado was not his enemy – would provide Yuugi with anything he asked in regard to Atem simply because Mahado was incapable of denying Atem anything – he was also not a friend.

It was a great loss.

Among the slave quarter reactions were more of a mixed batch. Shemei ignored the whole thing with her usual I've-seen-this-all-before attitude and simply refused to talk about it. Madu had ceased to even offer Yuugi so much as a 'good morning,' and Iry had taken over Madu's duties in regard to Atem. Idut and Hebony both seemed to be in Yuugi's corner, and this at least was something of a comfort. For the rest his interactions were fairly limited, and he tried to keep them that way. Yuugi would stick with Atem no matter what – he'd given his word, after all, and he'd given it with his whole heart – but he wasn't sure he could deal with much more hostility.

And so when Yuugi departed the throne room at the end of the day, he turned left instead of right, down the way that nobody ever went because they preferred the shorter route. He would wait three minutes to see if Atem would be joining him, and if no such meeting was forthcoming he would head for the slave quarter. Today, he thought, would be a long wait – Atem had stopped to talk to Ankhnadin and Siamun about the security plans for the upcoming celebrations, and might not come this way at all.

Yuugi was on the verge of pushing off from the wall and heading down the deserted long way to the slave quarter when he heard footsteps. Atem slid into the corridor and wrapped his arms around Yuugi's waist.

"The longer I have to look at you, the longer the day becomes," he murmured into Yuugi's hair before pressing a firm kiss to his cheek. "I think the gods must be having a grand joke at my expense."

Yuugi ran his fingers through Atem's hair. The day _had_ been long, yes, but Yuugi didn't think it had anything to do with the gods, and he said so.

"I think it's just that that was the most boring caravan I've ever seen in my life."

Atem smiled. "It did rather pale in comparison to the one from Sinai last week, didn't it?"

"Grain," Yuugi said, his voice comically pained. "Grain. I don't think you can get more boring than grain."

Atem shrugged. "If we wish to keep this economy on its feet we do have to get tin from somewhere, little Aibou."

"Yeah, but do you have to sit there for two hours talking about how you're going to get tin in exchange for _grain_?"

Atem started laughing. Yuugi hushed him. Atem lowered his volume automatically, still laughing all the time. Yuugi watched him laughing and started to laugh himself, still trying to tell Atem that really, they should quiet down. At last Atem took a deep breath. Then he leaned forward and quieted Yuugi with something far more effective than half-voiced entreaties.

It was somewhere in the middle of the kiss that Yuugi heard a voice somewhere in his peripheral senses.

"Wait, Atem, I needed to - !"

The voice died.

Yuugi's eyes snapped open. He caught only a flash of robe before the owner of the voice disappeared. Atem pulled away with a curse. Yuugi let his hands fall from Atem's shoulders.

He couldn't be entirely sure who the voice had belonged to; he'd been somewhat preoccupied with other matters. But the one thing he _could_ be sure of was that it hadn't been Set. Had it been, he would simply have waited for them to take notice of him before continuing on as though he'd never come across an interruption.

And that meant that whoever had just seen them knew – knew for sure, beyond all doubt – about the exact extent of their relationship. From the tone of the voice and the address, Yuugi guessed it was probably a member of the council. He reached for Atem's hand automatically, waiting for the unknown man to pop back around the corner with shouts and recriminations. Atem pulled away and headed for the corridor. He looked down it in both directions.

"Nobody."

Impossible for anyone to simply vanish in that amount of time. Unthinkable that they might have gone at a run back into the throne room – with his attention no longer diverted, Yuugi would surely have heard the telltale slap of sandals against stone. And yet it was true – the corridor was completely empty.

Someone, then, had gone running in a pair of soft-soled shoes instead of sandals. Yuugi tried to think. Who did he know who wore shoes instead of sandals? Set, yes, but he thought Set could safely be ruled out. Who else? One of the people who stood on Atem's right side. Yuugi couldn't be sure which – he'd taken absent note of the fact while playing the imbecile – but he thought it might be Isis. He'd have to pay closer attention the next time he had duty in the throne room. He only hoped it hadn't been Karim or Shada; the pair of them managed to generate incredible amounts of gossip. Yuugi didn't even want to think about what might happen if one of them had seen and mentioned so in the marketplace.

"Who do you think it was?" Yuugi's hand stole back into Atem's, trying to find a small amount of comfort in the face of this new and unknown quantity.

"Possibly Ankhnadin." Atem's voice was grim. "My father claimed he knew magic beyond all possible conception. I wouldn't put it past him to be able to disappear."

_And what about Mahado, your resident magician by trade? Can he just vanish at will?_

"Should we ask?"

"Never think it. Word would get around even more quickly. It's the last thing we need." Atem pulled his hand out of Yuugi's. "I think perhaps for the present it would be best if we went our separate ways, little Aibou. I'll see if I can't sort this out."

Yuugi nodded. He didn't like to leave; it was probably ridiculously _teenaged_ of him, but there was something distinctly irritating about being interrupted in the middle of something probably about ten seconds from a stress-relieving makeout session. And therein, he thought, lay the danger. In a matter of only two or three weeks they'd grown careless. Until Atem thought it safe to reveal all – within the walls of the palace if nowhere else – they couldn't afford to be so.

"Little Aibou."

Yuugi stopped from where he'd started on his way back to the slave quarter.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to return directly to your room. Don't go through the slave quarter at all, if you can avoid it."

Yuugi nodded again. And went.

Yuugi sat on his tick and looked down at the board. It was now or never . . . but he was afraid. If he did it wrong and the wood didn't split in the right place, he wouldn't be able to start over. And yet if he sat here and _didn't_ do it, in two weeks he'd have exactly nothing to offer Atem as a gift.

It was a horrible dilemma.

At last Yuugi picked up the board in one hand, the jade bracelet in the other. His fingers sought out Ki's bead.

"I don't think I've ever wanted anything more in my life than to make sure this turns out right for him," he murmured to the bead. "So help me out a little, would you, please?"

Yuugi hesitated to put the bracelet around his wrist, given the work he'd be doing, and so after a few moments of thought he fastened it to the clip that had moved ever farther back in his hair. Then he stood up, raised one knee, and brought the board down on top of it.

The cedar board cracked cleanly down the score right in the middle. Yuugi put down one half of the board, took the second half, turned it about, and brought it down on his knee again. Once more the break was clean. He picked up the first half of the board and repeated the process. Three-for-three. Yuugi grinned. From now on he'd have to simply keep scoring until he was far enough through the wood to break off individual blocks with his fingers, but the pieces were now in manageable sizes. Yuugi took one piece, picked up his knife, and prepared to make good use of the golden hour Atem had given him.

Then he heard sounds outside his window.

Yuugi had never thought to question where his room fell in the castle's layout; it was somewhere near Atem's room, and that was really all he knew. Now he stood on the small shelf Atem had provided for Yuugi's smaller personal items and hooked his elbows into the window to look out. He was startled to realise the outer wall of his room abutted on the back courtyard.

Below him he could see two figures. One was unmistakable; Atem could be spotted easily anywhere. The other wasn't so easy, but after a few moments of thought Yuugi decided it was probably Mahado. Atem didn't usually keep company with most of the council – did so even less now than he had before – and Yuugi didn't see the Millennium Rod anywhere. That the second figure's left arm was not tied up against his chest also said that it was likely not Set. Yuugi watched with interest. He could hear the murmur of words in a quiet conversation, but no distinct words. At last his ears adjusted to the volume and he was able to follow.

Ankhnadin had not been the one who saw them in the corridor.

Yuugi got down from the shelf and sat on the tick. His stomach was doing very unpleasant things – as though he'd seen Atem and Mahado kissing in the hallway instead of Mahado seeing them. Yuugi remembered all too well the time he'd seen Bakura and Anzu behind the school building; though Yuugi had long since accepted that he'd likely never have the chance to so much as hold Anzu's hand in anything more than a friendly context, he'd felt vaguely like throwing up. And Anzu had known, at least a little, how he'd felt about her, had tried to ease the blow when she'd announced that yes, she and Bakura were seeing each other. How much worse must it be to have that blow delivered all at once in a fairly undisputable form – because Yuugi hadn't exactly been trying to get away – and delivered by someone without the slightest inkling that they were causing pain? Yuugi did not precisely like the idea that someone else had serious feelings for Atem, but he felt badly for Mahado all the same.

He returned to his carving, but the pleasure was gone from it. And in it Yuugi found a deep irony: he didn't want anyone else to want Atem, and if Mahado tried to push his way into Yuugi's place Yuugi knew perfectly well he would have no compunctions whatsoever about pushing Mahado back. And yet, were it not for the man he was forced to view as a rival – a threat – the thing with which he hoped to return Atem's affections would never have come to be. Indeed, if Atem asked any questions about the origins of the gift, Yuugi would feel himself honour-bound to tell where he'd gotten the materials from.

Yuugi found this deeply unfair. He had enough handicaps to deal with – Mahado was smarter, older, more skilled, educated, quite likely knew Atem as well as he knew himself – and worst of all, he was a native noble. These were in no way small advantages. Next to them, what did Yuugi have? He couldn't even procure his own building materials.

**You do have one thing he doesn't,** New Yuugi said, and for the first time since he'd ever shown up, Yuugi lapsed into a willing conversation with him that did not involve telling him to shut up.

_Yeah? What's that?_

**Mahado may have gone to the docks and bought the cedar for you, but he's not the one who's sat for hours on end carving every single piece by hand and putting up with all the splinters and knife-nicks without saying a word. You know damn well Atem respects things like that.**

It was true. Yuugi couldn't even attempt to deny it. He returned to his work with renewed vigour, and when Atem knocked on the door to tell him that all was well, Yuugi was surprised to discover himself smiling.

* * *

Yuugi sat and stared at the package in the corner.

There was one thing he'd overlooked in his excitement to give Atem a gift for his eighteenth birthday.

It was a forgivable oversight, truly, one caused simply by the way Atem's birthday festival was being managed. Had Set been in charge of the ceremonial part of the celebrations, Yuugi would have had no trouble at all. He could have put the package into Set's hands, and from there it would have been presented to Atem just like any other gift. Set, however, was not the one he had to deal with, and Yuugi knew perfectly well that if he gave the package to Karim it would only find its way into the fire.

He could have simply left it in Atem's room, yes – certainly Atem had left enough little tokens tucked under Yuugi's pillow or folded into his bedcovers – but something in him was deeply angry at the idea. So he was a man! Why should that prevent him from being allowed to offer something to his king? Every person in Egypt was allowed to present gifts to the pharaoh if they wanted, although as a rule Atem discouraged it, and Yuugi was furious at the idea that he should be excluded – oh, the irony – for being _closer_ to the pharaoh than the others who might come.

He'd been told that morning by Shada – who would not precisely look at him – that he had been excused from duty for the day; he must bathe, and make himself presentable. He'd returned from the baths to find clothes that were not his own sitting on his tick. There was a tunic instead of a waist-wrap, for one, and a red cloak of the kind favored by Set and Siamun. His plain reed sandals had been replaced with a handsome pair of beaded leather ones. Sitting atop all was the ivory clip Idut had put in his hair for the visit from the Ophir soldiers, and a small reed box.

Yuugi examined these things carefully and determined that unless someone was trying to be very cruel, there was no trap laid in them. And so he dressed, and carefully pulled his hair back in the kind of plait Set usually wore. Had Anzu seen it, she would have called it a French braid. Yuugi neither knew nor cared what it was called; his main concern was that his hair was still too short to pull all back into a regular braid, and the style Set used allowed all the little tucks and pieces to be put carefully out of the way. With his hair back and clipped, Yuugi stood up to look down at himself.

The fabric against his chest felt too warm and strange after a year of walking around naked to the waist. The sandals were new, and not yet stretched into the shape of his feet. He wondered if he was supposed to put on his bracelet, and then decided he might as well. Whoever came to collect him to go wherever it was he was supposed to go would tell him if it was inappropriate. That done, he turned his attention to the box.

Everything in it was new, and so Yuugi assumed it was meant for his personal use. Someone had filled the box with small quantities of makeup and other bits and pieces of vanity items.

_Okay. Someone wants me dressed up for something. What, am I supposed to be the entertainment with tonight's dinner?_

**Maybe.**

Yuugi considered this possibility. Then he pulled the mirror from the box and sat down on the tick. He hated most makeup with a passion, but if he was indeed to be "presentable" then it would be expected of him to wear _something_. And so Yuugi rooted carefully through the box, cataloguing its contents for use. Not everything in the box was simply for show; he found a small jar of the oil Atem had once put on his lips, and the wax to seal it in.

The rest he could easily have lived without, but no matter – he held the mirror in one hand, a kohl-stick in the other, and very carefully traced a line across his upper eyelids before looking in the box for the green that was supposed to go on the bottom. He found it, applied it, brushed a little over the black line on top, scrutinised himself in the mirror. Not horrible. Not even bad, really. Yuugi had never been averse to wearing a little eyeliner in the name of dressing up. It was just that this eyeliner happened to be made of crushed stone instead of synthetic oils and chemicals all carefully produced in a laboratory.

There were other things in the box that further examination proved useful – a kind of deodorant, a thick sort of lotion that was soothing to his work-roughened hands, a tiny bottle containing a wonderful-smelling liquid that Yuugi supposed was supposed to be cologne. He'd never worn such a thing in his life and didn't have the slightest idea how to put it on, and so finally he settled for the method he'd seen Anzu use with perfume – rubbing two or three drops between his wrists and then touching his wrists to the pulse-point just behind the edge of his jaw on both sides. He wished with a pang that Anzu were here now; she could probably show him how to actually make use of the things in the box right after he gave her the world's biggest hug.

Yuugi was in the process of taking care of the bitten edges of his fingernails when he heard a shout in the corridor. He dropped the thing in his hand – which was something like an emery board – and headed for the hallway.

He wasn't in the least surprised to see Set and Atem squared off, yelling at each other as usual. He heard his own name and cringed. The thing he'd feared had finally come to pass; they weren't just arguing. They were arguing about _him_.

"- not even slightly a good idea, Atem. Most people don't know who he is, and if you just spring it on them this way – "

"I think I have the right to invite whomever I choose, Set. Why should I not be allowed to celebrate with those for whom I care most – whatever their station?"

"It's not his station that concerns me, Atem. It's – "

"It's that he's a man," Atem cut in. Yuugi could hear the cool anger in his voice, a blade of ice ready to stab and cut. "All this time you've told me so many lies about your opinion of us, that you found him to be a good match for me, and – "

"I don't deny I've said those things, nor were they lies," Set interrupted. Yuugi hoped they weren't going to finally have their first all-out fight right here in the hallway. "I only think that for his own safety, and for yours, it's better if the pair of you celebrate separately. Stay with him tonight, for all I care – you know I'd make your excuses. But for the love of the gods, Atem, keep him out of the banquet hall."

"I'm tired of hiding him like some kind of shameful secret. He has as much right there as you, Set!"

"I don't deny his right!" Set shouted. Two red spots stood out in his cheeks. "I'm trying to keep the pair of you _safe_, you great fool, and if you're so besotted you can't see it no matter what I tell you, no matter what Isis sees, then you deserve whatever comes to you!"

Yuugi watched Set's eyes go wide, and then drop as though he were looking at the words that had just come, unbidden, from his mouth. He took a step backward, looked back up at Atem, defiant.

"Let the gods help you both."

And he whirled about and strode off before Atem could so much as open his mouth to protest.

Yuugi slunk back to his room, feeling even worse than he had about the package in the corner of his room. He didn't want the pair of them to stop speaking just because of him. He wondered what Isis had seen. He'd ask later. In the meantime he wanted to finish with his fingernails. He had the vague idea that if he were the pharaoh's guest – and Set's words had made it sound so – then he had an obligation to look as nice as he possibly could. And so he returned to trying to make some order out of the calloused mess he called hands.

He might have to present his gift on his own, but at least, he thought . . . at least he'd look respectable when he did it.

* * *

It was Siamun who came to fetch him, looking not at all pleased about the task. Yuugi mentally contrasted Siamun's attitude with Jii-chan's. On Yuugi's thirteenth birthday Jii-chan had forced him to go to the drugstore and buy a box of condoms. Yuugi had been appalled. Jii-chan had put his hands on Yuugi's shoulders and told him that he was doing it not to embarrass Yuugi or to intimidate him; he was doing it to protect him. There were four words, Jii-chan had said, that he never wanted to hear out of Yuugi's mouth – that he would continue to love and care for Yuugi if he ever heard them, but that he prayed the day would never come. Yuugi had guessed both "I think she's pregnant" and "I think I'm gay" before Jii-chan shook his head and told him the words were "I might have AIDS." He'd made it abundantly clear that the other things didn't matter – that Yuugi could bring home a sixteen-year-old girl or a sixty-year-old man or anyone falling on any point in between, and as long as Yuugi was happy, Jii-chan would be happy for him.

Siamun, on the other hand, looked as though he'd be happiest if he could just pretend Yuugi didn't exist. As such the trip down one long corridor and up another was made in silence that made Yuugi feel like screaming. He was more than a little relieved to see Atem standing in the hallway outside the banquet hall, talking to Ankhnadin and Mahado. Ankhnadin gave Yuugi a curt, disapproving nod and disappeared inside. Mahado's eyes flickered between Yuugi, Atem, and the door to the banquet hall before he also slipped through the door. Atem turned around to follow the former line of Mahado's gaze. His face relaxed into a warm smile.

"Little Aibou." He reached for Yuugi's hands and kissed him on the cheek. Yuugi heard the disapproving noise Siamun made in his throat and ignored it. "You look amazing."

Yuugi blushed. "Thanks."

Atem held up an arm to escort him. "Shall we go in?"

Yuugi nodded and let Atem lead him.

The banquet hall was decorated lavishly, and full of people who turned toward them as the doors opened. Conversation died as the people about made their respects to Atem. Yuugi cast his eyes down so he wouldn't have to look at all the strange faces, the ones whose eyes flickered back and forth between Atem's face and Yuugi's own. He was sure most of them were nobles who paid direct fealty to Atem, some of them perhaps even people Yuugi knew, but it didn't make the scrutiny any easier. This was it – what might as well be called Atem's coming-out, his admission to the wider world that he'd finally found a partner – and that that partner was seriously lacking in the estrogen department. Yuugi had to admire Atem's courage; Yuugi would never have been able to walk into a room full of people he barely knew with his head held high and some boy inexplicably on his arm. He didn't think he'd ever felt so relieved in his life as he did in the moment when he and Atem were finally seated and the atmosphere returned at least mostly to normal.

Yuugi looked at the things on the table with no small amount of amazement. The dishes were metal instead of the usual pottery. There were bronze goblets instead of the wood and pottery wine bowls Yuugi was used to, and the whole had a general air of wealth. Yuugi didn't think he'd ever eaten in a place so grand in his life, not even when he'd gone to Egypt with Jii-chan as a child and had visited a restaurant with real silverware.

_Not that there's any silverware here anyway,_ Yuugi thought, raising his head slightly to see in whose company he sat. Atem was next to him, Set across; Mahado sat between Set and Mana. Somewhere on Atem's opposite side, but very close, Yuugi could hear the quiet murmurs of Ankhnadin's voice, and the answering murmurs of Siamun's. Karim was glowering at him from the end of the table. Yuugi was slightly distressed by the amount of disapproval being poured on him at that moment, but then he remembered the important thing: that he was sitting in company with a bunch of nobles, right next to the pharaoh, and that for Atem's sake he'd best be on the most excellent behaviour he could manage. Tonight he was being presented not just as a slave, but as a choice guest of the pharaoh's; it would do well for him to act as such.

Even so, Yuugi had a hard time not simply downing the wine that was poured into his goblet. He had to continually remind himself to sip, to not stare too much at the cheese and grapes and apple slices and meat that wasn't fish, to sit up straight and eat slowly. He made cautious conversation with Set and Atem, trying to get them to treat each other with something more than a chilly formal air. Shada was reluctant to be drawn in, but did not protest when Atem insisted on addressing him. Yuugi stayed mostly out of that part of the conversation, opting instead to savour the honey Atem had passed him to put in his wine. It created a drink much more delicious than grape juice, wonderfully sweet and deliciously spiced. Mindful of what had happened the last time he'd drunk too much wine, Yuugi restricted himself to a single goblet that he drank slowly.

It was somewhere roughly half an hour after beginning the meal that Yuugi's headache began. At first it was so slight as to be barely noticeable; within ten minutes it had deepened into a distinct pain above his left eye. He rubbed at it, trying to be discreet. Sometimes it helped. Today it only seemed to be making the pain worse. Atem sent a glance in his direction, clearly concerned.

"Are you quite all right, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded in spite of the ice pick sliding through his eye. "I'm – fine." He tried to make it sound natural – he was absolutely _not_ going to wreck Atem's special night by complaining of sickness, especially something as stupid as a headache – but as he tried to speak another stab of pain throbbed in his head and threw him momentarily off-track. Atem touched his wrist.

"Why don't you go get some air?"

Yuugi nodded gratefully. The room, though intended for well over a hundred people, was still hot from all the bodies. A short time in the corridor, with the cool evening wind blowing in through the windows from nearby rooms, might help.

Yuugi was vaguely aware that the floor was moving beneath his feet slightly more than it ought to have been as he got to his feet and headed for the door. He moaned inwardly – this would be one of his mother's headaches, the kind that only a dark and quiet room could cure. Yuugi had had them as a child, but when he'd gotten older they'd abated significantly. What a time for them to make their return!

_It's got to be the headache,_ he thought, looking at how the torches in the room moved in front of his eyes. _I know I can't be drunk already. I didn't even finish my wine._

Then the floor rushed up to meet him, and Yuugi fell into darkness.

* * *

Yuugi spent an unknown time in the dark. At some point he was aware of a cold hand with long fingers running through his hair; he tried to turn his head into the palm – he'd collapsed, yes, he remembered that, but there was no reason to deny Atem's advances if he still wanted to make them – but it wouldn't cooperate. His throat was very dry. He tried to ask for water and couldn't, and then he faded away again. The next time he woke his eyes hurt terribly, and he was looking at someone's back. Yuugi let out a pitiful kind of moan. The back turned around and became Mahado.

"I wondered when you'd wake."

Yuugi whined. He couldn't speak. Mahado pulled him into a sitting position and held a bowl to his lips. Yuugi didn't want to drink – felt as though his stomach had been replaced with a stress-ball that had just spent a week in Kaiba's care – but he was thirsty, so thirsty, and he could see the water in the bowl, clear and sweet. He drank it, feeling as though a horrible fire in his throat was slowly being put out. The burn returned after only a few moments, but it wasn't quite as bad as before. Of course, "not quite as bad" still amounted to pain positively off the scale. Mahado let Yuugi back down onto what Yuugi assumed was a bed.

"What . . . " Yuugi's throat protested loudly, and he ended the question halfway through.

"What happened?"

Yuugi nodded. Mahado looked hesitant to speak. Yuugi tried to glare, but he was both incredibly sick and also aware that he had no idea where he was. The bed, though tolerably comfortable, was neither Atem's large feather mattress or Yuugi's smaller tick, and the matting on the walls was blue and yellow with a black papyrus pattern instead of the plain green that hung in both Yuugi and Atem's rooms. Also, the tunic he'd worn had been removed, his hair let down, and all replaced with a wrap tied loosely around his hips. Yuugi continued to stare at Mahado even though his eyes felt ready to catch fire. At last Mahado gave in.

"Poison."

Yuugi did a quick mental assessment and decided his stomach alone was proof enough of Mahado's diagnosis. Mahado was saying something Yuugi didn't catch.

"Huh?" Another shout of pain from the area of his throat.

"I said, it's probably thanks to Set that you're still here. He recognised it before I did and took measures immediately. It was just such a shock." Mahado hesitated. "I think perhaps he was expecting something of the kind. He was quite adamant about not wanting you to attend this evening."

Yuugi stopped in mid-nod. _The banquet._

"Oh, god . . . "

Mahado pressed a hand to Yuugi's forehead and frowned. "You're still feverish."

Yuugi ignored both Mahado and the pain in his throat. "I ruined everything!"

"You mustn't think that way," Mahado said. "I daresay half the party is still sitting there with no thought at all toward you."

"But Atem – "

"Is incredibly concerned, it's true," Mahado cut in. "But –"

Yuugi watched him struggle with the words. At last they came out.

"Atem has never been deliberately callous toward the ones he loves."

Yuugi sighed, his small amount of strength mostly used up, and settled more fully on the soft surface that felt like something he could easily sleep on. "I wanted tonight to be perfect for him."

The words were barely more than a whisper, but Mahado heard and understood all the same – must have, because he answered. "Don't worry about that now. You need your strength."

Yuugi closed his eyes. "Where am I?"

"Set's rooms. They were closest, and given your condition we thought it best to worry about moving you to your own quarters after you'd regained consciousness." Mahado touched a cool cloth to Yuugi's brow. "Now hush. The best thing for you is rest."

Yuugi nodded. He drifted away briefly and not quite completely, the way he sometimes did when summer had come early or not quite gone and he still had to sit in class in his dress shirt and uniform jacket listening to things he cared nothing about, trying to take notes and inevitably doing nothing more than doodling pictures in his notebook. When he came back it was to feel that long-fingered hand pressed against his forehead. He opened his eyes cautiously and immediately shut them again before he could even form a decent picture of the person who was now turning their arm over and letting the back of their wrist rest in place of the hand. The hand was too cold to be even slightly accurate in regard to whether or not Yuugi's feverishness had died down. The single oil lamp in the room was brighter than a direct look into the sun, and twice as painful.

"Can you see?"

Yuugi let out an inward groan. When he'd thought himself being caressed, had he actually been trying to nuzzle against a hand that belonged to _Set_?

_That's just not fair. Some of you gods have a really, really sick sense of humour, you know that?_

Yuugi decided the safest thing to do would be to ignore the earlier interlude, given that he'd hardly succeeded in trying to be affectionate anyway. And so he simply set about answering the question he'd been posed.

"Light hurts."

An arm slid under his shoulders, and one of those cold hands pressed against his knee. Yuugi wondered vaguely if Set had been washing his hands in cold water, or if his hands always felt like this. It was slightly unnerving to be touched by someone not even thirty years old, but with hands that felt like Grandma Mutou's in the last stages of her illness. Maybe the chill was some lingering after-effect of Set's encounter with the Millennium Ring.

"Sit."

Yuugi let Set move him, and helped what little he could; he heard a quiet gasp of pain from Set as Yuugi finally made it into a mostly-sitting position. Then he felt the edge of a hand pressed against his brow. Yuugi resisted the urge to tilt his head and make it rest against his forehead - he was still feverish, and with no idea how to get hold of a cool cloth, he'd take any substitute offered.

"Open your eyes."

Yuugi did. Set's shoulders were hunched down, his eyes peering anxiously into Yuugi's. There was something wrong with them.

"Um."

Set's eyebrows raised.

"Aren't your eyes blue?"

"Yes."

Yuugi wished for a drink. His throat burned. "They don't look blue." Nor did they. The colour Yuugi was seeing was a strange shade of grey he was pretty sure he'd never seen in anyone's eyes before. Set frowned.

"Strange . . . "

Yuugi wanted to ask why Set found it strange, but he was still having too hard a time talking. The fingers against Yuugi's forehead twitched. Yuugi closed his eyes again, and Set's hand pulled away. Yuugi felt him leaning away and resisted the urge to grab his arm. Staying upright without support was well-nigh impossible, and he was terrified Set was going to let him fall.

The lip of something that could only be a bowl pressed gently against his mouth.

"Drink."

Yuugi turned his head. A horrible thought had just occurred to him.

"Mahado said – poison."

"Yes."

" . . . like what?"

"Any of a few things, but the general opinion among those of us who've discussed it is that it was probably – "

The word Set said was not one with which Yuugi was familiar, but the description he gave – tasteless, odourless, likely extracted from the copper mines – told him Set was probably talking about arsenic.

**Damn, kid, you got lucky.**

_If you call feeling like this 'lucky,' you're even more out of your mind than Atem is._

**You're alive, aren't you?**

"How?"

The arm behind his shoulders – Set's left – shifted, and Yuugi heard another of those not-quite-conscious pained sounds. Yuugi tried to hold up some of his own weight.

"Difficult to say. If I were to take an educated guess, I'd say it was probably put in your goblet before you drank. It couldn't be in the food because it would have taken us all. Had it had been directly in the wine I'd be lying next to you right now, and we'd likely both be dead. Your wine was poured from the same skin as the rest of the council." There was a pause. "If it's poison in the milk you're worried about, you can stop. I stood by while Shemei drew it."

_Yes, and then you carried it down here yourself – right?_ Even the thought of drinking milk could not convince Yuugi that he'd be best served by drinking anything he didn't draw himself.

**Don't be stupid. You're alive right now. Mahado knows you're alive, and that means Atem probably knows, too. Whoever it was isn't going to be stupid enough to try again right now.**

Yuugi drank, taking far less pleasure in tasting milk than he'd thought he would. He imagined having just barely escaped death by arsenic probably had something to do with that. It soothed the burn in his throat all the same, and he supposed there would be other bowls of milk later. Set lowered him back to the bed, and then a horrible thought lanced into Yuugi's mind, bright and brilliant as the edge of a sword flashing in the sun.

"Where's Atem?"

"In his room. Ankhnadin and Siamun escorted him there directly from the banquet hall after we discovered the poison. I doubt he's pleased at being forced to stay there. He mentioned that someone ought to pray on your behalf when I was up there half an hour ago." There was a pause. "If it eases your mind, there's a guard outside the door. He'll be joined by Ankhnadin when the banquet ends."

Yuugi nodded against the bed. He wondered how long he'd been unconscious.

**In Set's bed, mind you,** New Yuugi tittered.

_It's not like I put myself here,_ Yuugi thought back irritably. Really, New Yuugi had an incredibly juvenile sense of humour sometimes.

"I didn't find any head injuries when I checked – " that explained the hand in Yuugi's hair earlier, at least – "so I imagine you can be moved to your own room tomorrow. Tonight you should rest."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

Yuugi's eyes were still closed, but all the same he could see the look Set was giving him – the _duh_ look. "I won't."

"But – "

"The facts are quite simple, Aibou," Set said. Yuugi did not fail to notice the omission of his rank. "You were deliberately poisoned – although whether the poison was actually meant for you or if it was a failed attempt on Atem's life we have yet to determine – and the perpetrator is still at large. Would you rather I leave your life in the hands of some guard you don't know who might be more than happy to allow the person behind this a second chance in exchange for the right amount of coin, and claim you simply took a turn for the worse in the night?"

Yuugi had to admit the sense in this line of logic, but he was still uneasy about it. An image of the banquet hall formed in his mind – Mahado slightly diagonal from him, Set directly across. And how easy to reach, oh so casually, across the narrow table and mistakenly take the wrong goblet while engaged in conversation, especially if one happened to possess arms longer than usual or be well-versed in sleight-of-hand? And if it wasn't an accident? If, for example, one only wished to slip a bit of powder or a tiny sliver of metal into the goblet, would anyone notice? Yuugi wasn't entirely sure they would. Set's words from the argument with Atem - _you deserve whatever comes to you_ - echoed in Yuugi's head.

"- soon enough."

Yuugi cursed at himself silently. "Nnn?"

Set did not look quite as impatient as he normally would have. Yuugi wondered if his being somewhere halfway between life and death had anything to do with that. "I said, you might as well rest. It's already well past midnight, and morning will be here more than soon enough."

Yuugi nodded reluctantly at last. Set's hand slipped under Yuugi's head and lifted it to put something beneath. Yuugi wasn't entirely sure what it actually was, but he did know that it functioned very nicely as a pillow. A blanket was pulled up over his shoulders, and the wretched light from the oil lamp on the table dimmed. Yuugi opened one eye cautiously and saw Set sitting by the table, a scroll in his lap. He appeared to have taken up reading some kind of text. His lips moved silently as he took notes on a piece of papyrus sitting on the table, already completely absorbed in his work. Very good.

Yuugi curled into the blanket and let his eyes relax behind the closed eyelids. In the dark they weren't quite as painful. His next-to-last thought of the night was that maybe he should be more concerned about what had happened to him only a few short hours ago. His last thought of the night altogether was that just now there was nothing he could do about it, and he could discuss it at length with Atem tomorrow if his throat was in any better condition than it was right now.

And then he tumbled back into the darkness of sleep.


	18. Reversal

Are you getting the idea yet that this note is probably here to stay? I am. Anyway.

I wanted to offer a bit of encouragement to those of you who are participating in the mystery subplot; I've heard some ideas that are way off (no, Bakura is not possessing Set, but nice try), some that are excitingly close (like you're going to get a hint out of me that easy!), but not a single one that's actively ludicrous. In fact, some of them, though way off the mark, are so awesome I kind of wish I'd thought of them first. (I'm thinking specifically of one that was sent to me via PM that involved two characters working together because they believed Yuugi was trying to take over the throne, but there are several.)

Also, if you have a guess to make, please don't give it to me via comments – I won't be able to acknowledge whether or not you're correct publicly if you do, because of something that happened to one of my friends who used to post on FictionPress (she ran a game similar to this and someone who wasn't even reading that particular story popped in and cheated by checking reviews just to get one of the five drabbles she was offering as prizes). I like to think most people wouldn't do that, but you can never tell, so if you've got a guess to make, please send me a PM. If you don't have an account, you can drop me an email (it's listed in my profile). Just make sure you include some kind of identifying name so I'll know who to mention in the author's notes!

This is not precisely a hint, and so you're kind of getting two-for-one this chapter, but I feel honour-bound to say it: I do not actually own the Millennium World manga. (Any of the manga, actually. I'm hoping to get the original seven and/or Millennium World for my birthday.) When I need to brush up I head over to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia or take a trip to the local Borders, where the staff all know me and let me sit and read as long as I want. That means that though I do know a fair deal of the Millennium World story (I have yet to get hold of volume #6 and I'll confess freely to being rather hazy about what goes on in there), I'm a bit rusty on most of the details.

I try to stay mostly faithful in terms of important things, like the style of Set's headdress or Atem's crown, but when it comes to smaller stuff – like non-Millennium Item jewelry characters may wear, the kind of footwear each owns, etc. – I make all that stuff up. As such, _you shouldn't consider any change in clothing/jewelry/etc. between my work and the manga to be clues._ In all probability, it's just me filling in the blanks in my memory. The only exception to this, as far as I'm aware, is Mahado's design (my Mahado has long hair like the Dark Magician instead of a headdress), and the only reason for that is because I have a really hard time getting into his headspace and giving him some kind of differentiating characteristic makes it a little easier.

And now. Your actual clue for the chapter. You should never stop paying attention to _what people say and how they say it._ People may use double-entendres, or say more than they realise they're saying. A non-spoilery example of this would be the beginning of the last chapter. Mahado says:

"Consistent discipline breeds self-control and restraint. Self-control and restraint are the answer to overcoming all obstacles and temptations . . . "

On the surface, he's talking about sending Mana back to her studies, but if you pay close attention to who he's talking to (Atem) and how he says it (with his back turned) along with the context given by Yuugi's thoughts, you'll realise Mahado's also talking about himself – and if you want to take it even further, he's also trying to convince himself that he can overcome what he views as an inappropriate temptation (Atem). Mahado does it a fair amount – more than my characters usually do, I think - but there are other characters who also do it, and you should keep in mind that what they say may have more than one meaning. It won't always – hell, it won't most of the time, because trying to do something that elaborate would just fry the hell out of my brain – but there are clues to be had there (as well as in more straightforward dialogue).

Now. Onto the chapter!

Nina

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 18/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 12 928  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **language**, **homosexuality**, **violence**, **mentions of bodily functions**, **graphic but (mostly) innocent kissing and cuddling**, and **angst, yo**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi continues to have a rival. Set continues to be weirdly normal. The perpetraor continues to not be caught. Yuugi continues to be sick for quite some time. Yuugi and Set play a game.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in all relevant countries, **both Yuugi and Atem are now above the age of statutory consent.**  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **olesia.love**, who gave me a couple of details on Mahado's backstory that the YGO Wikia did not include. Cheers.

Oh. And by the way. Just so you lot know, I did play the game Set and Yuugi play in this chapter by "building" a board in MS Paint and running a simulation. All the moves listed are legal for the game. (In my simulation Set was actually the winner, but I put that down to my being a strategist more in Jounouchi's vein than Yuugi's. I suck at strategy.)

* * *

Yuugi awoke when he nearly fell off the bed.

Atem's bed was too soft and large to nearly fall out of, and Yuugi's, of course, was directly on the floor. This bed was set on a gradual slant and seemed to be made of thick straps, something like a hammock. Yuugi pondered this for about half a second before his head reminded him what had happened the night before. Arsenic poisoning. Right. Set's room. Yuugi let out a quiet moan.

"You're awake."

"Nnn."

"Do your eyes still pain you?"

Yuugi nodded. His eyes still pained him, yes. So did his throat, and his head, and his very skin. They still pained him a _lot_.

A shadow fell over his face. Set pulled Yuugi up to sitting.

"This first, for your throat." A bowl touched the edge of Yuugi's lip. Yuugi drank. This time the milk seemed sweeter, more enjoyable, in spite of the pain. During the night, as he slept, something had occurred to him – that Set was probably too smart to resort to poison. Unless he was trying to frame someone else for the job, the food and drink he offered Yuugi would probably be safe.

"And this next, for the poison. You'll have to swallow it."

Yuugi let Set put an unidentified something in his mouth. The unidentified something quickly proved to be a clove of garlic. Yuugi struggled not to gag. He liked garlic in food, but eating the cloves straight from the plant was just too much.

"And this again, to keep it down with."

More milk. Yuugi licked his lips, unable to help himself. He wouldn't have deliberately poisoned himself to get it, but if he'd realised just how much he missed it he might have offered Atem a few of those special favours in exchange for a bowl.

"How do you feel now?"

Yuugi took a deep breath. Even so, his words came out in a tiny voice that did not sound very Yuugi-ish at all. "Kind of like somebody fed me to Ammit, and he decided he didn't like me very much so he spit me out again."

"Are you well enough to be carried?"

Yuugi nodded. He thought he could deal with that.

"Then put your arms around my neck. I want to get you out of here before the palace wakes. It's best, for awhile, if nobody is entirely sure where you are."

Yuugi nodded and cracked one eye the tiniest bit. The light made him recoil. He shut his eyes and turned his head away as every light source in the universe blended together to assault him. Set took Yuugi's hands and put them on his shoulders. Yuugi locked them together behind Set's neck and let Set slide his arms beneath Yuugi's knees and shoulders. Yuugi leaned against his chest, and then he was off the bed and in the air. He opened his eyes to look down at the bed, curious, and just as quickly shut them again before the light could hurt _too_ much. The bed looked like the classic Middle Kingdom style Yuugi had read about, made of woven leather straps and set off the floor with a wooden frame. It distracted Yuugi, for a few seconds, at least, from the pain that seemed to have taken every cell in his body prisoner.

_That's kind of cool. I mean, I could have lived without it, but it's still cool._

**Maybe you should see if you can sleep in it again.** And a distinctly perverted-sounding cackle.

_Oh, shut up._

Yuugi leaned against Set's chest, trying to keep his weight off Set's bad arm. He was starting to think this hadn't been the best idea. Set hissed in pain when Yuugi's weight shifted to the left. Before too long his arm was sure to give out.

"What on _earth_ do you think you're doing?"

"Moving him. I told you last night, Mahado –"

"That you wanted him moved early this morning. I remember. I also seem to remember telling you distinctly that you weren't to do it yourself."

"I'll be fine."

Yuugi could not see the look Mahado was bestowing on Set, but the air around him seemed to imply it was the kind of look that could crack stone. "Let me see him."

Yuugi whined. He didn't want to be handed over to Mahado. He was perfectly fine exactly where he was, and he made his displeasure known by refusing to let go of Set's neck when a second pair of arms slid under his knees and shoulders.

"You'll have to let go, Aibou," Mahado's voice said. "I'm not going to risk you getting dropped."

"I wouldn't drop him," Set said, clearly irritated. "Really, Mahado – "

"Save it," Mahado cut in, setting his hold on Yuugi's upper half. "You're next."

"If you think you're going to be tying me up again like a crippled old man – "

"I wouldn't have to keep binding your arm if you'd stop overusing it. You may as well go ahead and tell Atem we're coming." Yuugi could hear the note of displeasure creeping into Mahado's voice. "He wouldn't sleep last night at all. I tried to tell him you were sitting with the boy and we'd know the minute there was news, if news were to be had, but he wouldn't listen. Really, he's worse than a child sometimes."

Yuugi wondered what the consequences would be if he accidentally-on-purpose nudged Mahado in the ribs to remind him that the boy in question was very much so awake and in their presence. He decided he'd rather not get dropped, and kept his elbows to himself. Set's footsteps gained just a little in tempo, and then drew farther away. Yuugi leaned his head against Mahado's shoulder. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to trust the resident magician-in-trade, but just now he didn't seem to have a choice.

Yuugi heard the sound of a door opening, and then someone getting rapidly to their feet.

"Aibou!"

"Just – now. Give me only a moment," Mahado said. Even with his eyes closed Yuugi could imagine Mahado trying in the most diplomatic way possible to get Atem out of his way. Yuugi felt his center of balance begin to shift and cowered against Mahado's chest. Yuugi's bare feet touched down on the familiar softness of his tick, and he relaxed. Mahado let him down onto the tick. Someone pulled Yuugi's blanket up to his waist, and then the edge of the tick moved and a hand twined gently with Yuugi's own.

"Little Aibou . . . "

"He hasn't shown much predilection to talking either last night or this morning," Set's voice said. "According to the text I was reading last night he may have difficulty speaking until most of the poison is leached from his system."

Yuugi managed to whisper out a very slurred-sounding version of "I'm awake," just enough to assure Atem that he hadn't died on the trip between Set's rooms and his own. Atem caressed his hand. Yuugi wished for some milk – just a swallow, something to take the burn out of his throat again. He heard the rustle of fabric.

"May I speak with you outside?"

_And after three thousand years, that's still what they'll say when they don't want the patient to know he's dying,_ Yuugi thought. _Like I won't be able to hear what they're saying if they're just outside the door._

He heard the trio leave the room, and in the few moments before the door swung mostly closed Yuugi took stock of his situation. He was incredibly ill with arsenic poisoning, barely able to speak or see, and unable to walk at all. It was a fair guess, he thought, that yes – he probably _was_ dying. He was surprised to realise the thought brought no fear with it – only a kind of resigned acceptance, and a small amount of anger. He'd loved well and completely, and had probably been killed for his pains.

_It's not supposed to end this way._

And yet – how did he know that? Certainly he hadn't been around when Atem had died. He was pretty sure he would have noticed if a purple-eyed boy with curly hair had followed Atem into battle, and if he were indeed still here when the events of the memory world unfolded themselves, he knew perfectly well that yes, he would take a sword and charge out at Atem's side. He would not cower in the kitchens and hide.

Yuugi heard voices in the hallway, quiet but distinct.

" – tell me it's too late?" Atem, angry and panicked.

"I didn't say that, Atem." Mahado, trying to be patient. "He's strong in both body and will, and if he makes up his mind to live, he very well may. Surviving arsenic is rare, but possible." A hesitant pause. "But we may not be able to save his eyes."

"Which makes no sense," Set cut in. "I spent the entire night reading and didn't find a single thing on arsenic causing eye problems."

"It could simply be shock. Or a reaction with the wine. I'll do some reading on it later today," Mahado said. "Perhaps it's not even arsenic. The boy doesn't often drink wine, and a difference in taste might go completely unnoticed. I suppose only the perpetrator would know for sure." A pause. "You said, did you not, that you'll be . . . questioning us later today?"

Yuugi wondered if the others caught the second pause.

"I think it's best to start with the council. We were all there, after all, and someone may have seen something or –" there was a very brief pause, and then Set began his thought again. "In any case, it's best to ensure we're able to collect all the data we can, and such is the way to do it. If you concur, I'm going to rest for two hours, and then assemble the council. Such tasks are best undertaken when one's fresh."

There was a pause. Yuugi imagined Atem nodding.

"And you really think the perpetrator sat at the table," Mahado said thoughtfully.

"I think it distinctly possible. I'd like it better if we didn't have so many slaves to deal with on top of all, but what can you do?" Another pause. "And what _should_ we do?"

"Ensure the boy's comfort, I suppose. And hope when the perpetrator's found that it's a matter of punishment and not vengeance we'll put on his head. And you – " Yuugi could hear the address shifting – "you should probably stay here today, where we can keep an eye on you both. Give him what he wants, keep him calm. Don't make him talk. Try to keep his spirits up. I'll have a guard posted outside. If the boy needs anything – "

_The boy needs you to stop calling him 'the boy,'_ Yuugi thought, irritated. _I have a name, you know. Just because Ankhnadin gets away with calling me 'boy' when I'm eighteen years old doesn't mean you should start, too._

The door opened. Yuugi felt the tick shift again as Atem sat down next to him.

"Don't leave," Yuugi heard Mahado caution. "It's best if we can keep you both concealed for awhile. I'll retrieve a guard."

"I'll stay until he arrives," Set's voice said. "There's no point in allowing a weak place for even a few minutes."

"All right." Yuugi could hear the exhaustion in Atem's voice. He groped momentarily for Atem's hand. It came to rest on top of his own. Yuugi turned his own hand over and twined their fingers together. If he was going to die, at least he wouldn't be doing it alone.

The door closed again. Atem lay down at Yuugi's side and gathered him up into a gentle cuddle. Yuugi tried to ignore the pain in his skin as Atem pressed the gentlest of kisses to the side of his neck. He must have given a sign all the same, because Atem stopped.

"Rest, little Aibou. I'll watch over you."

Yuugi nodded. The idea of Atem playing nursemaid was actively ludicrous, but Yuugi still found himself comforted. He wished for something to take the awful heat out of his skin. He knew the others couldn't feel it – would surely have remarked on it while he was being carried through the halls – but to him it was an inferno trying to burn him up from just beneath his skin. Atem seemed to somehow infer these thoughts, because after a few minutes he pulled away, and Yuugi could hear him moving about the room. Then Atem's hands were on his arms, and something wonderfully cold was being rubbed gently into Yuugi's skin.

_Ointment. That's what they call it. It's some kind of ointment._

After a few seconds he realised the smell was the same as the scent of the lotion he'd used on his hands a million years ago while getting ready for the banquet yesterday. No wonder it was helping his skin – the lotion he'd been wearing was the best available, probably another gift from Atem.

"Is it better, little Aibou?"

_You _are_ reading my mind, aren't you? You heard what I was thinking._

He hadn't intended the thought to be a direct address, but Atem's quiet chuckle told him it had been interpreted that way.

"Only a little. Most people's thoughts – your own included – are like a pair of women whispering to each other two or three rooms away, but that one was particularly strong." A short pause. "Occasionally I'll hear things rather at random – usually when the thought is directed at me, whether consciously or unconsciously."

"Oh." Yuugi winced at the pain in his throat as he spoke aloud. Atem ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair. Yuugi wished he could mask his own pain somehow. If the thought of it was so strong that it echoed as though spoken aloud in Atem's head, how possible was it that perhaps Atem also felt it, creeping up each finger, sliding insidiously down his back, driving hot slivers of metal into his legs?

The door opened again. Yuugi felt a second presence kneeling by the side of the tick.

"If you're able to turn over, I'd be much obliged."

Set.

Yuugi turned, feeling the fire race across his shoulderblades where they brushed against the soft cotton sheets. The back of Set's arm pressed against his forehead.

"You're not as warm as you were, and that's something, I suppose." The arm pulled away. "I told Mahado to have your shutters put up, and it appears he did."

Yuugi opened his eyes cautiously. The shutters were indeed up, the room dim as though being viewed without a lamp at the quarter-moon. The colours were washed-out and faded in the dark, but there was no awful, blinding light to sear his eyes.

"Thanks."

Set offered a curt nod before turning to Atem. "The guard is outside, and Mana will be joining him shortly. If you need anything she can retrieve it for you."

Atem nodded.

"In the meantime, I'd recommend you stay here. I'll see that someone brings food for you."

Yuugi whimpered. Atem stroked his hair to quiet him. Yuugi saw Set's eyes flicker in his direction.

"I think for the present I'm going to leave Idut to her normal tasks. Perhaps she can prepare something for you."

Yes. That would be better. If Idut brought the food, and she was the only one to have touched it, Yuugi would try to eat. The pain in his throat was hideous, but he knew he'd need his strength.

Set left, closing the door quietly behind him. Yuugi was starting to think perhaps Atem hadn't been so mad after all when he'd said Set showed a natural aptitude for medicine. Certainly his attitude for the last twelve hours or so was indicative of at least some measure of concern.

He drifted away again, lulled by the quiet and the dark.

* * *

He woke when the door opened again.

"- don't want to wake him," Mahado said in a voice that was not quite a whisper. "I've been looking at Set's studies from last night – it's simply been so many years since I've dealt with this – and the pain when he's conscious must be well nigh unbearable."

"Absolutely." It was no more than a whisper, but the men sitting too close to each other next to the tick heard it all the same. Atem reached for Yuugi's hand and squeezed it gently. Yuugi ignored the pain that flared up his arm and tried to squeeze back. He managed only the slightest twitch.

"As long as you're up, it's time for this," Mahado said, in a voice only very slightly louder than it had been before. He produced a clove of garlic. Yuugi whined in protest.

"We have to leach the poison somehow, Aibou," Mahado said. Yuugi wondered vaguely at the rapidity with which he'd gone from being addressed as a slave to being addressed as a free man, and wished he only knew what it meant. In the meantime there was only one thing to do, and he did it, eating the garlic Mahado had given him readily if without actual enthusiasm.

"There's a jar of water in the corner, if you want it. Shemei boiled it already," Mahado continued. "She said you won't drink it otherwise."

Yuugi nodded. They probably all thought he was insane, but he wasn't going to complain. At least he had clean water.

"Set's going to be starting his questioning soon," Mahado said to Atem. Yuugi thought he could hear a vague distaste in Mahado's voice. "I likely won't be back for a few hours."

Atem nodded. Yuugi watched as Mahado headed for the door, letting himself relax only when Mahado was gone. Atem stroked the back of Yuugi's hand.

"Would you drink, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded, wishing his throat hurt just a little less so he could bring himself to ask properly. Atem didn't seem to mind; he only drew some water from the jar, pulled Yuugi into his lap to sit, and held the bowl so Yuugi could drink. When the bowl was empty, Yuugi rested his head on Atem's shoulder. He had a sturdy chest to lean against and arms to hold him up, and he thought he could happily sit this way for awhile as long as Atem didn't tire from his weight. If Yuugi had been perfectly healthy, this would have been a piece of heaven; even with the pain lancing through his body it was still comforting. After awhile Atem picked up the pot of lotion and began rubbing it on Yuugi's arms and shoulders again, soothing the angry ache just below the surface of Yuugi's skin. Eventually he shifted his weight so he could focus on Yuugi's legs, and that, too, was wonderful. Yuugi drifted off again.

For Yuugi the next several hours were a shifting, hazy maze of waking and tumbling back into unconsciousness. When he was awake Atem gave him water; once he was fed another piece of garlic. Sometime around the middle of that space Atem woke him deliberately to help him eat a bowl of peas cooked with milk. They were soft and small and did not cause too much pain when he swallowed.

Eventually Yuugi discovered a minor problem with their current position. Or rather, became more fully aware of a minor inconvenience that in this case might turn out to be a major problem. He squirmed in Atem's arms.

"Do you need something, little Aibou?"

Yuugi felt his face flush. It wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to say, not to Atem – part pharaoh, part Yuugi's . . . boyfriend, maybe. Whatever he might be labeled, Yuugi knew that what he had to say to Atem was going to be incredibly embarrassing. But far worse to say nothing, and so he simply said it, hoping he wasn't making a fool of himself.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"Where is it?"

And this was the minor inconvenience. "By your room."

"You don't have - ?"

Yuugi shook his head. There was no bathroom any closer. He'd spent more than one frantic morning looking for one before finally giving up and deciding he'd just have to share Atem's. Normally he wouldn't have cared – Atem's room was thirty seconds away at a normal walking pace – but today the idea of going down his corridor and up Atem's was more than just daunting; it was completely insane.

"Let me – "

Atem opened the door. He stood there, his body apparently frozen, until Yuugi began to worry about him. Then he pulled his head back inside.

"I think someone's going to find themselves on trial before too long if Mahado has his way. The guard is gone."

". . . Mana . . . ?"

"Was called for questioning while you slept. Apparently she's not back yet." Atem hesitated. "I suppose I can at least watch out for you."

Yuugi took a deep breath. "There's . . . a knife. In my – basket."

Atem got on his knees by the basket and pulled out Yuugi's carving knife. "This?"

Yuugi nodded.

"I suppose it's all we have," Atem commented. Yuugi was not insulted; on the contrary, he was well aware that a three-inch carving knife was hardly a lethal weapon unless the person wielding it knew exactly where to stab. He stood up, and his knees buckled. Atem dropped the knife and reached for Yuugi. He managed to catch Yuugi before he hit the ground, but it was a near thing. Yuugi could have cried for frustration. The whole spectacle was simply too ridiculous, and when Atem picked him up, a few angry tears did manage to find their way out of Yuugi's eyes, burning like melted plastic. Yuugi wondered how on earth he was supposed to use the bathroom when he couldn't stand, and he was appalled to realise he was either going to have to try to kneel, or ask for help. There was something horrible about realising that even one of his life's most basic functions had been stripped away from him by some idiot who wanted him out of the way for an as-yet-unknown purpose.

"You'll have to open the door, little Aibou." The general air of what was trying very hard to be a playful grin. "Some folk may have a third arm, but I'm afraid I've been allocated only the usual two."

Yuugi's lips twitched. Smiling also hurt, but Atem was trying to take his mind off things, and that was worth a smile. He let one hand fall carefully from Atem's neck and pushed the door open. Atem caught it with his hip before it could fall shut again and slid inside. The room was dark, but Atem knew his way around it well enough, and when he stopped to let Yuugi's legs down Yuugi knew they were standing directly in front of the toilet that was really more of a chamber pot. Yuugi held his hands out just a little to catch himself when Atem let go, wanting to land on his knees instead of his behind, and was slightly wrong-footed when Atem rested his hands on Yuugi's waist and waited.

"I won't let you fall, little Aibou."

_Oh, god._

Had Atem said it any other way, Yuugi would have made him leave and tried his luck on his knees. But the tone he heard in Atem's words – the sheer amount of concern for Yuugi's safety and comfort – forbade it, and with so with an entirely different kind of fire in his face Yuugi set about doing what he needed to do.

"'m done," he mumbled at last, feeling himself thoroughly humiliated. Atem picked him back up, and as they left the room he leaned his head closer to Yuugi's.

"Don't be so, little Aibou. I don't want you to feel shamed in my presence."

Yuugi felt tears trying to start again and blinked them back. Either the arsenic was really messing with his hormones, or he was just far too emotional when he was sick.

Atem paused on the stairs.

"I think perhaps it's better if we retire to my room than to yours, little Aibou. I'd rather have you in a place that meets your needs for the present."

Yuugi nodded against Atem's shoulder. The last time he'd wet himself he'd been ten years old and down with a fever so bad he'd ended up crawling to the bathroom because the floor rocked every time he tried to stand. He still remembered the humiliation of not being able to make it in time, and had no desire to repeat the experience. Atem carried him up the stairs instead of down, backed into the room so Yuugi wouldn't have to open the door, and laid Yuugi on the bed. He pulled the light coverlet up over Yuugi's legs.

"Would you like a game of senet, little Aibou, or would you rather rest?" The subtext in the tone was clear: Atem would not just let Yuugi win, certainly not, but neither would he play to the extent of his abilities. He would play on a level respectful to Yuugi's being in pain and therefore easily distracted, so Yuugi would still have a chance. Yuugi considered the possibilities before the pain in his eyes decided him.

"Rest."

Atem nodded, lay down next to him, and stroked Yuugi's hair. Yuugi was almost asleep again when he heard the shouts in the corridor – a panicked Mahado and a more composed, but still clearly rattled, Set. Atem raised his head, then slid off the bed and made for the door.

"We're up here."

Feet stuttered up the steps to Atem's room. Yuugi did not have to open his eyes to know Atem was being roundly scolded.

"What on earth are you _doing_ up here, you're supposed to be in – "

"Are you aware that there's no bathroom in the vicinity of his room?" Atem cut Mahado off easily, and the pause in conversation told Yuugi that no, they hadn't been aware of any such thing.

"There used to be," Set said. There was another pause – someone shrugging, perhaps.

"There isn't now. I had to carry him up here. I thought it more prudent to stay where one would be readily available, in the event that it might be needed again."

"The guard had to retrieve us because he wasn't even aware you slipped out."

"The guard wasn't doing a very good job of guarding, then, was he?" Atem paused. "He'd actually left his post when we left the room."

Yuugi felt a change in the air and recognised it as Mahado's brand of anger. He only hoped nobody was about to get zapped.

"I'll see to it."

_Well, so much for hoping,_ Yuugi thought. The guard might as well be saying his final prayers right now.

The back of a wrist rested against Yuugi's forehead, and when Set spoke, Yuugi was surprised to hear a smile in his voice.

"His fever's broken."

Mahado, whose footsteps had been headed in the direction of the door, stopped. "Do you say so?"

"I know so. Come, feel his forehead. It's cool."

There was a pause, and then a second hand, one shorter and squarer than Set's or Atem's, rested against Yuugi's brow. There was a silence, and then Mahado spoke – quiet but distinct.

"Let the gods be praised."

There was another pause. Then he spoke again. "If you can see to the boy, I'll take care of the rest."

A silence – likely Set nodding. Yuugi heard Mahado's footsteps dying away again, and then a weight rested on the side of the bed next to him.

"Are you awake?"

Yuugi nodded.

"How do you feel?"

"The same way I did this morning." He paused. That wasn't entirely true. "My skin doesn't hurt as much."

"And your throat?"

"Awful."

"I expected as much." There was a pause. "You'll have to help me. I swear the bastard just ties it up because he doesn't want me able to do anything the least bit useful."

Atem chuckled. "Of course. But really, Set, if you'd just let it heal – "

"I've had this lecture twice today. I don't need it from you, too."

Atem's arms slid gently around Yuugi's middle. "Come, little Aibou." He tugged gently at Yuugi's middle. Yuugi planted the bottoms of his feet against the bed and pushed, and between the two of them Yuugi managed to slide into Atem's lap. Then he opened his eyes cautiously. The light was on the other side of the palace now, and so Atem's room had begun to darken in the late of the day. Yuugi could see Set clearly, but without the horrible searing pain of the morning. Set was holding a bowl full of what could only be milk. Yuugi took it and drank, saving a little back to drink after eating the clove of garlic he was sure Set had secreted somewhere on his person. The clove did indeed appear, coming from a small leather pouch attached to Set's belt, and Yuugi ate it before finishing off his milk. Set took the bowl from him and set it on the table by the bed.

"I was on my way back here when we were intercepted by the guard. I thought perhaps you'd like to know what I learnt this afternoon."

"Most definitely."

Set's eyes flickered to Yuugi. "You listen. If there's anything you think it pertinent to add, by all means do so. After all, you were there too." He paused to collect his thoughts, and then continued. "The council is clear. Ankhnadin examined me, to be fair, and I examined the rest. There's not a trace on any of them. Indeed, it's fair to say that if you intended to put them on this one's side – " Set nodded at Yuugi – "then certainly it's been done. They're absolutely outraged, Siamun and Ankhnadin especially. I think they consider it rather an insult that someone managed to slip right past all their plans." He paused. "It wasn't useless, for all that. Shada noticed something I thought we might want to consider."

"Which is?"

"At banquets with goblets, don't you usually order the goblets turned upside down until the person the seat is intended for takes their place, and that point a servant turns it over and fills it?"

"Yes."

"Shada said Aibou's was already right-side-up when you entered the room."

Yuugi could feel Atem leaning forward. "He's positive on this point?"

Yuugi nodded – Shada was right – as Set answered. "Absolutely certain. He remarked on it to Karim, but he said he thought at the time perhaps it was only an oversight. You remember at new year when your place was set for a right-handed person."

Atem also nodded. "Daring, all the same. So you were right about the poison's being in the goblet."

Set shrugged. "I don't insist on it. But it certainly seems a logical conclusion."

Atem's voice turned soft and thoughtful. "Who set the tables?"

"Siamun's making enquiries in the slave quarter right now." A short pause. "And Ankhnadin pointed out that we can probably relax in regard to you, at least." His eyes flickered to Yuugi. "You were sitting on his right side, were you not?"

Yuugi nodded.

"And you're right-handed."

Yuugi nodded again.

Set nodded and flicked his eyes over Yuugi's shoulder to Atem. "Then unless our perpetrator is a complete imbecile, it's inconceivable, if the poison was indeed in the goblet, that it was meant for you. Your goblets would have been two whole place settings away from one another."

"Mmm." Atem stroked Yuugi's hair absentmindedly. Yuugi let his head fall against Atem's shoulder and closed his eyes again. They were starting to ache in spite of the room's dimness.

"I think perhaps for the evening it's best the two of you retire. I've already heard about your not sleeping last night, and you – " Set indicated Yuugi – "need all the rest you can get."

Atem nodded. Yuugi simply curled closer into his arms. The weight on the side of the bed disappeared.

"Someone will be watching for you." He paused. "I'll ensure it's someone competent. What an ass that fellow was!"

Yuugi felt Atem nod. He heard the door close, and then Atem began to work the knot that held the wrap around Yuugi's waist. At last it fell away, and Yuugi, too sick to care about protesting, curled even closer. Atem reached up for the bedcovers, pulled them down, and helped Yuugi slip between them before sliding out of his own clothes and into the bed.

"'m sorry," Yuugi whispered. The rest of the week's celebrations had almost certainly been cancelled because of the poisoned goblet. Atem brushed Yuugi's hair gently off his face and shook his head.

"You have no reason to apologise, little Aibou. If anyone should be sorry, it's the one who did this to you." Atem curled around Yuugi and stroked his skin. "Would you sleep now?"

Yuugi nodded. He'd spent his day sitting on a bed and the most exhausting thing he'd done was making a trip to the bathroom, but even so he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open now he was bundled in the sweet, soft warmth that was Atem's bed.

"Then sleep and dream of things that soothe you," Atem murmured. "And heal. Grow strong and return to health – Yuu-gi."

Yuugi nodded. He'd need all the get-well wishes people wanted to give.

He'd just tumbled back over the edge of sleep when he realised Atem had called him by his real name, effectively changing the entire meaning of Atem's words. It was no wish.

It was a blessing.

* * *

"Keep it down, Siamun, he's still sleeping."

"I can see he's still sleeping. He shouldn't be."

"He's ill."

A pause. Yuugi floated back into consciousness slowly, becoming aware first of voices, then his body, and then the pain that consciousness brought with it. He whimpered.

Atem's weight suddenly settled on the side of the bed. He brushed Yuugi's hair out of his eyes.

"How do you feel, little Aibou?"

Yuugi whined again in answer. Atem sighed and caressed the side of his face. Yuugi opened his eyes cautiously. Some light was seeping between the cracks in Atem's shutters, but for the most part the room was dark. Yuugi could see Siamun behind Atem's shoulder.

"'s go'n on?"

"A report, little Aibou. Siamun's completed part of his work in the slave quarter." Atem turned back to Siamun, Yuugi's head resting against his leg. "Would you continue?"

Siamun looked distinctly discomfited, but obeyed. "As I was saying, the tasks in question seem to have been split up among several people, and some of the slaves involved speak no Egyptian. If someone was bribed, we may have a good deal of difficulty finding out who bribed them and what they thought they were actually doing."

Atem nodded thoughtfully. "It won't matter. I want to find out who's behind this, Siamun."

"I understand that, Great Pharaoh, but – "

"But nothing. We can begin questioning people today." Atem ran his fingers absently through Yuugi's hair. "If you'd be so good as to send Mahado up, I'd be much obliged."

Siamun made his respects and left. Atem lay back down by Yuugi's side and caressed Yuugi's arms.

"I'll have to leave you today, little Aibou. But I'll see you again this evening, and think of you all the hours between." He pressed a kiss against Yuugi's neck. Yuugi pulled away restively. He didn't want to be left with Mahado. He'd much rather be with Atem, or at the very least someone who was not in love with Atem.

_There's only room on this bed for one of us, partner,_ Yuugi thought. It wasn't _completely_ nonsense – he'd sat and suffered through some of the cowboy pictures Jounouchi loved so much, and some of the heroes' clichéd lines had simply stuck – _but still,_ Yuugi thought, _sitting here trying to figure out what Mahado would say if I told him to get out of Dodge before the sun goes down probably isn't a very good sign for my sanity._

They sat in silence, Atem stroking Yuugi's hair, Yuugi trying to go back to sleep so he wouldn't have to deal with Mahado when he arrived. He must have succeeded at least a little, because the next thing he knew he was opening his eyes to see Atem and Mahado standing across the room, talking as quietly as they could manage.

Yuugi had read, in more than one really horrible mystery novel, the phrase "his blood turned to ice in his veins." Yuugi had always taken it as a very poorly-picked metaphor for simple shock.

But when he saw the hug the pair across the room exchanged, he knew better.

In the end it was not Mahado but Mana who ended up staying at Yuugi's bedside for the day, feeding him garlic cloves every two or three hours and as much milk and water as he could drink. Today, at least, Yuugi was capable of standing, if not walking long distances, and so was spared the embarrassment of asking Mana to stand by while he answered nature's call. She just had to walk him to the bathroom and wait for him to finish and return.

This development should have pleased Yuugi immensely. It didn't. He tried again and again to tell himself that he had no reason to be jealous, that Atem treated Set the same way, that surely if Atem was tired of Yuugi he wouldn't have spent all of yesterday with Yuugi in his lap, but it didn't work. What he kept coming back to, again and again, was one simple phrase that repeated itself in his head in a miserable, unending loop.

_Mahado's the one who cured you. He owes him. Mahado's the one who cured you . . . _

The most galling thing was that Yuugi had no way to disprove this fact to the voice in his head. Set had read the texts and begun Yuugi's treatment – yes. _But really_, the voice argued back, _do you think it was Set or Mahado who wrote the text to begin with?_ Probably neither, Yuugi tried to insist. It was probably written by somebody who died years and years ago, and the copy in the palace library is just that – a copy.

_Copied out by whom?_

And here Yuugi was stuck. Possibly a palace scribe, yes – but it would make just as much sense for a learning student to copy the text, as a way of both preserving it and memorising it at the same time. No matter how often he tried to tell the inner voice that Set could have copied it during his studies, or maybe even Atem, it didn't work. The voice would just tell him that if Mahado had his students copy the text, the odds were good that copying it was the way he'd learned and the text Set had studied from could easily still be written in Mahado's hand.

**Does it matter? Seriously, does it? He's helping you because he wants Atem happy. You know that. He's throwing away his own chances because he doesn't want Atem upset.**

_It matters to me._

Yuugi did not want to eat the bowl of rice and lentils Idut brought for him at midday; she'd been to pains to ensure his portion was only just barely spiced, enough for taste but not to cause too much pain. Even so, the thought of eating it made Yuugi feel sick. He ate enough to appease Mana, and turned the rest away. He wanted to talk to Atem - _needed_ to talk to Atem, to hold his hand, to hear him whisper "little Aibou" and promise to never leave, even if it was all pretty lies with no more substance than a box kite. Yuugi tried to sleep, to lessen the time between midday and sunset, and perversely he felt more awake than ever. Mana offered to play him at senet, and Yuugi thought with a painful stab to his middle of the gift still sitting in the corner of his room.

He played a single game with her. She won. Yuugi did not try to make excuses for himself; he was naturally talented, yes, but all the talent in the world did not help him when he let worry distract him. When he'd played against Atem and Set he hadn't really cared; an excuse to touch and hold hands without drawing a withering gaze or overcurious stares – given that there had been no stakes involved in the outcome, Yuugi hadn't minded losing so much. But this was an average game against an average player, and Yuugi wanted to berate himself for losing so easily.

Finally he asked her if she thought he'd get in trouble for going back to his own room. Every time he looked in the direction of the door he saw Mahado and Atem standing there with their arms around each others' shoulders, Atem with his head bowed. He only wished he knew what Mahado had been saying. Trying to convince Atem that a boy who caused so much trouble should be put out of the way, maybe. Yuugi couldn't quite see Mahado being that cruel, and yet – every time he got so far in the thought, he remembered the look on Set's face the day of the Ophirites soldiers' visit, the way his face had twisted when Mahado pressed a thumb into his palm. The way the Ophirite captain had looked with his body lying on the floor and his ba imprisoned in the cobbles beneath. No – this was not a place he wanted to stay. Bathroom or no bathroom, he'd rather stay in a place where Mahado's phantom presence would not be able to haunt him.

Mana spoke with the guard outside the room, some fellow Yuugi didn't know. He agreed to move with them, and when Yuugi was settled in his own room the guard nodded to him and took up a post outside the door.

Mana was the first to see the package, even though it was blatantly out of place in the room where nothing else had been draped in linen cloth. In the confusion of the day before it had gone completely unnoticed.

"What's this?"

Yuugi saw the edge of his gift peeking out and had to fight the urge to cry. "What's this," indeed! A piece of folly, that was all. Two plain pieces of wood and some paint. The only plain wooden game Atem possessed was pick-up sticks. Everything else was carved of ivory or ebony, sometimes made of gold, and almost always inlaid with precious stones and pieces of coloured glass. How stupid he'd been from the very beginning!

"I was going to give it to the pharaoh. It – it was a gift."

"You still should," Mana coaxed. "I'm sure he'd love it."

_Yes – he'd love to put something so plain and ordinary in with stuff people would pay millions of yen for in my time and place. I bet even Kaiba couldn't afford some of the gameboards Atem owns._ This was a slight stretch, Yuugi thought – he wouldn't be the least surprised if Kaiba really did have an ivory chess set or a marble checkerboard laying around somewhere – but he understood what his mind meant, and that was enough.

* * *

Yuugi had never been more relieved than he was when Atem appeared in his doorway that evening – and yet at the same time he felt sick to his stomach. This, he thought, was the feeling of real, true jealousy – not being sure whether to throw himself into Atem's arms or shove himself away in anger. He turned his head away when Atem sat down next to him.

"Are you all right, little Aibou?"

Yuugi considered telling the truth - _no, I'm not okay, I'm so jealous I could spit and I don't like it at all, I don't like feeling this way, and I really need you to tell me what's going on because I'm afraid I'm going to lose you_ - and then cold and unreasonable anger took over. While Atem was off playing detective with Mahado and Set, Yuugi was sitting in a room barely able to take care of himself, and it just wasn't _fair_.

"I saw you this morning."

Yuugi felt the change in the air as Atem's brow furrowed. "I don't know what you mean, little Aibou."

"With Mahado."

Atem took Yuugi's hands. "He had something to tell me – that he hadn't told you. But – "

"Yeah, he does that, doesn't he?" Yuugi could feel his temper rising. He was sick, the entire council was trying to keep him in the dark, and now Atem was keeping secrets. He'd had enough. "He does that a _lot_."

"Little Aibou – "

Yuugi pulled his hands away. "Actually, it seems like usually he's just trying to drag you off and make you forget I exist. He does that a lot, too, doesn't he?"

"I think perhaps – "

"I think, too. I think I'm tired of him trying to get in where he doesn't belong!"

Jealousy is a strange thing. Though it can begin with only a tiny seed, it can quickly – in the space of a single sentence, in fact – bloom into something larger, sometimes even outright paranoia. If Atem had simply gone on with what he'd originally intended to say all might have blown over. Except, of course, he didn't.

"I don't know what you mean, little Aibou."

"I bet," Yuugi answered, and he could feel tears on his face now. "I just bet you don't." And a thought, one that he would have laughed at for its idiocy at any other time but now thought perfectly rational, slid out of the dark corner of his mind where it had lurked and made itself known. "He already has, hasn't he? You just haven't figured out how to get rid of me yet."

"What?"

It was then that Yuugi started to shout. Later he wouldn't even remember most of what he said, and what little he could recall would make his face flush with shame. He spent a fair amount of time throwing wild accusations, crying, and thinking that when he was done he'd take the bundle in the corner outside, and shove it into whichever oven seemed to be burning hottest. At last the pain in his throat was greater than his need to shout, and then he sank back onto the tick, coughing, breathing in great heaves of air, and swallowing his own tears. The salt made his throat burn.

There was a long silence. Atem would not look at him. Part of Yuugi's mind noted this with a grim satisfaction that said he'd been right all along about the two of them – that he'd been so spot-on Atem couldn't even begin to defend himself. The rest of his mind told him he'd really fucked up this time – whether he was right or wrong, this was the end. Atem would get up, leave, and when Yuugi was recovered from his little bout with a deadly poison, he'd be moved back to the common slaves' quarter. Atem might address him occasionally as a slave, but he'd never be "little Aibou" again. He'd given up all hope of getting back to Domino in exchange for Atem, and now he'd gone and lost that, too.

"I think perhaps you've allowed your jealousy to cloud your perceptions, Aibou."

Yuugi winced as though he'd been struck. He'd never lost his temper so badly before in his life. To really let the fireworks fly – and with Atem! He couldn't have used worse judgment if he'd tried.

"I have never taken Mahado to my bed, and I have never gone to his. It's true his affections for me go beyond the brotherly kind, but I've never returned them, and he's never mentioned them to me directly."

There was something wrong with the statement that Yuugi couldn't quite place. Then it came to him.

"So how exactly do you know, if he's never told you?" Yuugi was aware that there was no small amount of irony in his getting angry on Mahado's behalf, but ignored it. He wanted the truth. The whole truth. All of it, from beginning to end.

"I never said he didn't tell me." Atem cast a glance at the confusion on Yuugi's face and sighed. "When I was ill with the cholera . . . the night he cut Akana's hair to ease her fever . . . " Atem paused. "He spent a very long time trying to calm her. She'd found out somehow we'd lost Idut, even though Mahado had given strict orders to all the slaves to not mention it while she was still so weak. And while she slept – while he believed I, also, slept – he spoke, and told me all. He's never known I was awake, and I have never seen reason to tell him what I know."

"I'd say him still trying to get –" Yuugi revised the words _in your pants_ before they could leave his tongue – "to get your attention might be a pretty good reason."

"He's well aware I don't feel the same. If he chooses to continue on . . . then that's his choice. I'd no more take it away from him than I would to climb up on the roof of the palace and jump off in the hopes of learning how to fly."

"I'm sorry," Yuugi whispered at last. The shouting he'd done had left his throat in worse shape than ever. Atem's hands slid over his, and Yuugi thought to himself that if he'd only had the sense to shut up and let Atem talk in the first place, he might currently have been wrapped in a warm cuddle.

"I forgive you because the poison's clearly driven you even more out of your head than people say I am."

Yuugi chanced a glance up at Atem and saw the sparkle in his eyes. Yuugi was being teased – very gently indeed, it was true, but teased all the same. He took a breath to tell Atem to knock it off already, and then the sheer absurdity of the situation dawned on him. He'd shouted incredible amounts of insulting accusations, and Atem had simply acknowledged them and then promptly begun to act as though it had never happened.

It was that silly sparkle – the kind of grin twelve-year-old boys bestowed upon their best friends before sharing the very-best-ever hiding spot in the whole world – that made Yuugi realise something he should have thought of months before. Atem didn't tease to be cruel; he teased because teasing was part of Atem's brand of love, and instead of being irritated Yuugi should be glad he was privileged enough to share it. He started to giggle. It hurt his throat, but all the same it felt _good_, the way blowing bubbles and really good pillow fights and warm rainstorms felt good. Atem smiled at him. At last Yuugi stopped. Forgiven or no, there was still the issue of his having treated Atem with absolutely no consideration; of having decided he wasn't worth trusting. The sick feeling began to creep back into Yuugi's stomach. Atem pulled him into a warm hug.

"You wanted to tell me something," Yuugi whispered. Atem nodded against his shoulder.

"Mahado thinks he's found the reason for the problems with your sight."

"What does he think?" Yuugi said, still in the quiet not-quite-a-whisper voice. Atem caressed his hands.

"Arsenic causes severe headaches. It could be that such is the cause of your troubles, instead of being a direct result of the poison itself. He wants to wait a day or two for your pain to grow less, and see whether it helps. If not he'll see if there are any alternatives to be had." A pause. "Or more correctly, he's already looking. It's simply that he'd rather wait to see if the solution readily presents itself, because apparently the other possibilities he's found thus far would be rather unpleasant."

Yuugi nodded. He was already regretting the spectacle he'd made – the noise hurt his head and throat, which was bad, and the words had hurt Atem, which was worse. Atem laid his head against Yuugi's shoulder. Yuugi wound his fingers into Atem's hair. Atem sighed.

"It grows late, little Aibou."

Yuugi nodded. Now Atem would go, and though Yuugi understood that that was the way it had to be – this was not, after all, where the pharaoh was supposed to sleep – he didn't want it to be that way. He wanted to hold Atem in his arms and cuddle him, to offer an apology the way words couldn't – with kisses and caresses and, if he could manage it, words that did not precisely say "I'm sorry" but implied it all the same. In Yuugi's mother tongue, it was a single word; here it was a little longer, but he could live with that. Big feelings needed big words sometimes. And yet somehow he was embarrassed to say it in the light. Usually he wouldn't have cared – would have been glad to say it as casually as "good morning" – but usually he also wouldn't have been shouting things he never should have said. Atem ran a hand through his hair.

"Would you have me stay?"

"Yeah. I mean, if you want. You don't have to. I mean, if you want to that's great, but – "

Atem silenced him. Yuugi closed his eyes. It was their first kiss since the whole disaster began, and there was a kind of hesitation in it that made Yuugi want to cry. Atem was by no means horribly forceful, but he knew what he wanted and wasn't particularly shy about making it known. This kiss was a ghost of the ones they'd shared in the past, pale and almost not there. Yuugi recognised Atem's reserve for exactly what it was – a litmus test of the waters after their first real fight – and respected his wishes . . . but it hurt. Badly. Atem pulled away, and Yuugi laid his head on Atem's shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for, little Aibou. You're ill."

"That's no excuse," Yuugi argued. "I should have trusted you."

"I think perhaps there were some things that needed to be said." Atem rested his hand on the back of Yuugi's head.

"Yeah, maybe, but seriously, I didn't need to _yell_ at you. I hate fighting with people." Yuugi paused. "I was wrong."

Atem chuckled. "I must admit myself a bit perplexed as to why you'd think me romantically entangled with a man only a few years younger than my father."

"Well, he – wait, what? No way." Yuugi pulled away to judge Atem's expression, absolutely positive he was being had. If he was, then Atem had become a much better actor in the past few days. His face revealed nothing of the kind.

"It's true, little Aibou. If the gods are good, he'll be fifty-five years old this year."

Yuugi stared. He'd pegged Mahado as older, yes – but by "older" he'd been thinking something along the lines of maybe thirty-five years old at most, and that only because he'd been Atem's tutor. Yuugi wondered vaguely if there was a connection to be made between Mahado and Atem both looking significantly younger than their respective ages and both possessing a Millennium Item, and then decided it was a topic for another day.

"Would it make more sense if you knew I thought he was about twenty years younger than that?"

Atem started laughing. "I suppose it does seem a little clearer in such a case." He sighed and stroked Yuugi's hair out of his face. "You should rest."

"I spent the entire day resting."

"Then would you care for a short game before you sleep?"

Yuugi nodded in defeat as Atem reached for the canister of pick-up sticks. What he really wanted was to give Atem the gift tucked in the corner, but now, he knew, was not the time. He was starting to wonder if there'd ever be one, or if that, too, had been taken from him when he'd drunk a toast to Atem's health two days before.

Yuugi was well aware that he was not playing to the best of his abilities, and Atem also seemed to know it; halfway through the game he asked if Yuugi would rather just call it a night. Yuugi nodded. There was no pleasure or distraction to be found in the pile of sticks sitting in front of him; on the contrary, he felt as though he'd just spent an hour walking the very lip of a high mountain trail, and then followed it up by denying the mountain ever existed while he could still feel the dangerously round pebbles beneath his feet. Atem might have forgiven him, but Yuugi knew it would take a little longer before he could forgive himself. He hadn't wanted to shout that way. He thought of an animal caught in a trap that would bite the person who tried to free it. It was exactly the way he'd treated Atem this past hour, undeservedly so, and now he wished-wished-_wished_ he could take it back.

Atem tucked Yuugi beneath the blankets and kissed his forehead. Yuugi expected him to leave, and found himself startled when Atem simply availed himself of Yuugi's mirror to clean the makeup from his face before sliding under the covers himself. He wrapped his arms around Yuugi's waist. Yuugi curled closer and kissed the edge of Atem's jaw, the slightly ticklish spot that always earned him a positively delicious squirm from Atem. Yuugi was by nature neither cruel nor a tease, but there was something about making Atem fidget that way that made Yuugi want to laugh. It was the most unkingly thing ever, and Yuugi loved it. He wormed his way up to Atem's ear and whispered his words in it.

Atem stroked his back, gently encouraging Yuugi to get closer, closer, and Yuugi did. He was not comfortable with pressing as tightly against Atem as he normally did when the pair of them slept together, but he had no problem whatsoever with curling up like a cat and being petted, nor with doing a little petting of his own. There was one spot at the nape of Atem's neck that seemed to be directly connected to a nerve that caused the most delectable purring sounds, and Yuugi made good use of it for perhaps two minutes before deciding he was well and truly tired out and ready to sleep. He let his hand fall away from Atem's neck and cuddled against his chest. Atem slowed his caresses and wrapped his arms around Yuugi's back and shoulders.

It was just about the time Yuugi was falling asleep – not so far gone that he couldn't hear, but no longer awake enough to make any kind of intelligent rejoinder – that Atem acknowledged Yuugi's words at last.

"I love you too, little Aibou."

* * *

"Now follow the flame." Mahado held a lamp in front of Yuugi's face and watched anxiously as Yuugi tracked it. He blew out the lamp, set it down on Atem's nightstand, and brushed his hair impatiently out of his eyes. Yuugi was slightly gratified to realise Mahado's hair was back to being its normal not-quite-black colour. In the first few days of Yuugi's illness it had taken on a freakish reddish cast that made Yuugi feel a little like screaming. Set's eyes had also returned to their usual blue, which had relieved Yuugi greatly. The world was a great deal more frightening when half of it was the wrong colour.

"Atem said you're walking better now."

Yuugi nodded without answering aloud. His legs were still slightly unsteady – Yuugi would have laughed aloud at the idea of having to run anywhere – but Set's amazing arsenic cure seemed to be working. Yuugi was indeed walking again, the pain slowly ebbing out of his skin and throat, his eyesight returned almost completely to normal. He supposed the space of two of the ten-day Egyptian weeks probably also had a hand in that.

"So am I allowed to go back to work now?"

Mahado chuckled. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone so eager for that." He sighed. "I don't see a good reason to keep you from working if you feel up to it, but I'd feel more comfortable if you were restricted to light duty for now. Perhaps even the throne room, where we can keep an eye on you for the present. Our questioning continues tomorrow, and perhaps you'll hear something that gives us a clue."

Yuugi nodded, resigned. He'd expected as much. They probably wouldn't let him work in the kitchen again until the perpetrator was found, and Yuugi had a sneaking suspicion that would never happen. Atem's questioning had been sporadic, fitted in around his usual work – a necessity he hated but could not avoid – and frequent visits to Yuugi's bedside, and as such he still hadn't managed to talk to everyone involved.

And so every day the trail grew colder. Yuugi had the feeling that, perversely, he was safer now than he ever had been. Set's actions the night of the banquet had sent a message to the perpetrator: try again at your peril. I'm always watching, and I won't give you the chance for a next time. The other council members had mostly followed suit. Ankhnadin and Karim still acted as though Yuugi were an inconvenience, Karim ignoring Yuugi utterly and Ankhnadin limping off in another direction every time Yuugi appeared. Siamun and Shada, though, had both mostly accepted that Yuugi wasn't going anywhere, and had taken to checking on him occasionally while he was still confined to his bed.

Now he was taking somewhat tottery steps of his own to Atem's room, to the bathroom, and on one occasion Mana had cleaned him up and escorted him to a quiet storeroom to share a proper supper with Atem. Yuugi thought it was high time he got back to work. He felt like something of an anomaly, the slave who wouldn't quit unless he was half-dead, but he couldn't help it – Jii-chan had drilled a strict work ethic into him from the time he was still too small to do much besides sweep the floor of the shop at the end of the day. Yuugi had never been subjected to the annoyingly chirpy "busy hands are happy hands" motto, but he would have understood it perfectly if he had. It didn't _quite_ describe his way of life, but it came close.

"What's this, little Aibou?"

Yuugi's attention was jerked back to the present, where Atem had just asked him a question he had no idea how to answer. _If I'd been paying the slightest bit of attention, it'd probably make sense._

"Um – sorry?"

"Mahado says there's something you spent a fair bit of time working on this past month. I'd be interested to see it."

Yuugi's face flamed. He'd managed to forget almost completely about the linen-wrapped package that had eventually found its way under his basket. At some point he'd become convinced that offering it to Atem would be nothing short of an insult. Here, have this piece of carved and painted wood that even some of the poorest people in the city could afford. Right. Yuugi thought not.

"I – it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to," Yuugi lied. "It doesn't look all that great."

"Still, I'd see if you'd allow me."

Yuugi shrugged. He didn't want Atem to see his foolishness. He was stupid to have ever thought of such a thing. And yet – Yuugi couldn't form a coherent end to the thought, and so he simply got off the bed. Set took one look at Yuugi's still slightly stumbling form and snorted derisively.

"It's going to take you a week to get down there and back, and that's if you don't break your neck on the stairs going down."

_Damn it, Set, I was actually starting to like you,_ Yuugi thought. He turned around defiantly. If Set wanted an argument, Yuugi wasn't above giving him one.

"Oh, to hell with it." Set shoved himself off the bed. "Where is this thing of yours?"

Yuugi sighed inwardly. "Under my basket."

Set strode past him, out the door, and down the stairs. Yuugi sank back onto the bed. Once he'd dreamed of having his gift presented to Atem formally, just like those that had almost certainly been sent by officials from around the country; now he wondered what on earth had possessed him, and whether he'd be seen as out of line if he asked Set and Mahado to step out while Atem laughed.

Set reappeared with the linen-wrapped package in his hands. Yuugi's stomach twisted. The entire thing was like some kind of sick parody of what Yuugi had originally longed for. Atem took the package out of Set's hands. Yuugi watched him unwrap it out of the corner of his eye, unfolding the thin white linen Yuugi had draped around the contents to protect them. There was a pause as Atem examined the board within, carefully scraped to silky smoothness and with a very special grid painted on it. He picked up the coarse-linen bag Yuugi had sewed – more crookedly than he liked to admit, if the truth were to be told – and spilled out its contents, sixty-four wooden squares tumbling across the surface of the cedar board. Atem picked up two or three of them, turned them over to see that yes, all of them were plain cedar on one side and painted black on the other. Then he looked up at Yuugi.

"It's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, little Aibou, but what is it?"

Yuugi felt a bud of excitement in his stomach at the compliment. The important part was the part where Atem had said "beautiful." There hadn't been any need for coloured glass or ivory markers. Now the fun would begin. He hoped.

"It's called _Reversi_."

Atem made a face. "It's called _what?_"

"Reversi. It's, um . . . " Yuugi paused. "The word 'Reversi' is kind of a pun on the word 'reverse' in the country where it was invented. It's a game where you . . . this is a lot easier to show than it is to tell."

"Then show us, little Aibou."

Yuugi set up the opening sequence – white in squares 4D and 5E, black in 5D and 4E – and then quickly sorted out the remaining sixty pieces into two piles of thirty each.

"Okay. You always set the board this way at the beginning, and I'll play as white – well, cedar-coloured, I guess," Yuugi added sheepishly. He supposed he probably could have asked for white paint, too, but somehow it had seemed infinitely more important to get the grid marked out than to have both sides of the squares painted. "The object is to have the most squares of your colour on the board at the end of the game when all the squares on the grid are filled up, and you do that by taking turns and doing this." Yuugi put a plain piece in 6D and flipped over the black piece in 5D. "Now black would take a turn – "

Set picked up a piece from the opposite pile, put it in 4C, and flipped over Yuugi's piece in 4D. "Like so?"

Yuugi nodded excitedly. If Set could catch on in a single move, it wouldn't take long before Yuugi and Atem were almost equally matched.

"You can move in any direction – " Yuugi put a piece in 3B to capture Set's piece on a diagonal – "but you can only play one piece at a time. You have to capture at least one piece on every turn, but you can capture more. Like – you could move there." Yuugi pointed to 7D. Set played and flipped Yuugi's pieces in 5-6D. Yuugi played in 6E. He wanted to stay on a diagonal without making it blatantly obvious that he was headed for the edge of the board. Atem watched, rapt, clearly intrigued and amused by this impromptu demonstration of the rules. Mahado also looked on with no small amount of interest.

"And how do you determine a winner, little Aibou, if there should be a tie? For I see an equal number of squares on the board."

"I guess he could be wrong, but my grandfather always said he's pretty sure it's mathematically impossible to have a tie in Reversi. Because once you get a few pieces on the board – " Yuugi grinned as Set played in 4B, he'd fallen right into Yuugi's trap – "you can get to the edge of the board, and the first person to get to the edge has a huge advantage, because you can take big long lines of pieces all at once." And Yuugi put a piece down in 8D. "That's one of the big challenges of Reversi – one second you can have forty pieces of your colour on the board, and the next you can be losing by a huge margin. You have to plan really carefully and be ready to switch strategies at a moment's notice, because you can't ever know what your opponent's going to do." Yuugi watched as Set played in F7.

"And if it's impossible to capture a piece on any given turn?"

Yuugi played in G8 and took almost all the pieces on the board, gaining another edge piece into the bargain. "Then you forfeit turns until the other player makes it possible for you to capture again."

Set played in E7. "I see one great fault with this game."

Leave it to Set, Yuugi thought, to wreck one of the greatest board games in the universe. "What's that?"

"What happens in the event that one player should capture all of their opponent's pieces?"

Yuugi played in A4. It was too early to say for sure, but he had the feeling he was about to give Set what both Jounouchi and Honda would have called a serious ass-kicking. "I'm pretty sure that's impossible. I've been playing this game since I was a little kid and I've never seen it happen."

Set studied the board carefully and played C7. "It can't be impossible. If one player were to always move, for example, horizontally – "

Yuugi played in F4 and flipped three of Set's pieces, one vertically and two on a diagonal. Set protested loudly.

"You can capture in more than one direction in a single turn, you know." Yuugi watched as Set tried to make up for Yuugi's lead by playing D3. "And anyway, you can't move in only one direction for the entire game. You'd only be able to capture once, and then it'd kind of be over. You have to move at right angles and perfect diagonals all the time." Yuugi considered taking a small amount of mercy, given that this was the first time any of the three other men in the room had ever seen a Reversi game.

**Fuck that. You know you want to.**

_. . . you know . . . I owe him a lot. But . . . you're right. I kind of do._ And Yuugi put down in E8. Set swore.

"Who invented this thing?"

Yuugi caught Atem's eye over Mahado's head, bent over the board. He winked. "These two guys who lived in a country called England, actually."

Neither Set nor Mahado could understand why Atem started laughing, but when Set joined him with a triumphant "ah-HA!" a moment later, it was perfectly clear why. Yuugi had slipped up, and Set had gotten an edge piece at last, playing in F8. Worse, there was no way for Yuugi to head him off before he got a corner. Yuugi shrugged and played D2. He'd won before against both Jii-chan and Honda with only two corners to his name. One corner was nothing. Set played H8, as Yuugi'd expected. Now the real battle would begin.

Yuugi quickly captured two corners, and then stared in disbelief as Set effectively boxed him into losing a turn. No big deal, really – he'd lost turns before, and it was perfectly possible to lose a turn and still win – but it still annoyed him. At least, he thought, as he moved toward that ever-important third corner that would practically ensure victory, Set was still labouring under the misapprehension that the best moves were the big, showy ones that captured lots of pieces at once.

Yuugi just barely eked out a win – not because of any lack of skill, but simply because at the very last minute, when big, showy moves actually helped, Set managed to capture twelve of Yuugi's pieces in a single move. It wouldn't have happened if they hadn't been down to only three spaces, but that was the problem with a really good game of Reversi – in the end there was never any way to be quite sure. Jounouchi had beaten Yuugi more than once with moves he'd simply taken a mad stab at, hoping he was doing the right thing. Never by a count of more than four or five pieces, and not more than two or three times in the two years of their friendship, but it had happened.

Atem examined the final configuration of the squares on the board. Then his face split in a grin.

"I think I like this game, little Aibou."

Yuugi cleared the board, very carefully not looking at Atem. He thought his face might actually spontaneously combust if he did. "Well, I made it for you."

Atem ran a thumb over the rounded-off edge of one corner. "You went to this trouble for me?"

Yuugi shrugged. "Happy birthday." He paused. "Late."

"You didn't have to do this, little Aibou." Atem stowed the Reversi markers in the linen bag to ensure none of them got lost.

"Yeah, I know. But I wanted to."

"It's a handsome piece of work," Mahado said, his first comment since the board had been revealed. "And an interesting game, to be sure."

"Where did you get the wood for it, little Aibou? Cedar this well-grained is expensive. Even I know that." Atem held the board up to the light and tilted it to watch the sunlight play off the colours in the wood, cedar-red and white. Yuugi opened his mouth to answer, wishing with everything in him that Atem hadn't asked that single question.

"He saved his reward to trade for it."

Atem stared. "Little Aibou, you _didn't_."

"He did."

Yuugi nearly gaped. This had been Mahado's chance to step in and take Yuugi's success away from him – and he hadn't done it. Mahado caught Yuugi's eye, shared a brief glance, and then his gaze flickered back to Atem. Yuugi almost wanted to cry when he realised what he'd read in that look – not defeat, no, not that exactly – but surrender. Mahado had made his last play. The board was Yuugi's now, and Yuugi's alone, to play the game as he saw fit. Yuugi wondered if some conversation had been held in the last two weeks that he wasn't aware of, something that had convinced Mahado to give up. Probably not, unless Atem hadn't been involved. Yuugi would have known about it if he had been.

Atem ran a hand reverently over the surface of the board. Yuugi felt a minor twinge of triumph. Once before he'd attempted to render Atem speechless and hadn't quite succeeded; this time he had, and without even trying.

"This is beautiful, little Aibou." Atem looked up at Yuugi and smiled. "I accept your gift with pleasure."

Yuugi smiled back. Somewhere behind him he was aware of the sound of Set making an exit and taking Mahado with him, mumbling something about trade arrangements or some other nonsense. Atem stroked the side of Yuugi's face.

"I take it this is the reason your visits to me grew less last month."

Yuugi nodded sheepishly. "I kind of needed the time to finish it."

Atem put the board carefully aside and leaned forward. The kiss was long, lingering, gentle. Yuugi thought with scorn of the wild groping he'd seen in some of Jounouchi's videos. At the time it had seemed exciting, but next to this . . . this . . . gentle caresses that twisted Yuugi's stomach into all kinds of interesting and pleasant configurations, sweet kisses that did not leave him panting for air like a dog but most definitely left him short of breath . . . Yuugi thought he much preferred this to the alternative. Atem broke away with a sigh. Yuugi smiled at him. Atem glanced again at the cedar board sitting half-propped against his pillow.

"I think perhaps, little Aibou, I'm in need of a second demonstration. I'm not quite sure I caught all the rules."

Yuugi started to laugh, dragged the board back between them, and spilled out the pieces again. Four in the middle – thirty to himself – thirty to Atem.

"I'll play black this time. You go first."

Atem did.


	19. The Final Answer

Yeah, definitely here to stay, at least until this subplot's over . . . which it pretty much is. We'll see if the note's still around next chapter, yes?

I'd first like to congratulate **Judy**, the first person to figure out the perpetrator! Your oneshot will be getting underway as soon as I come up with a decent plotline that Kaiba doesn't keep fucking up/taking over. To everyone else: there is currently no limit on the number of winners unless I start getting entries that sound suspiciously alike, so keep "the little grey cells" working. Don't forget, if you win you can request any pairing or character set as long as it involves only manga characters. My only request is this: please do not ask for crack/parody. Some authors are absolutely fantastic at parody. I am not – in fact, my one (unpublished) attempt at parody turned into this really serious piece worthy of Greek tragedy. You don't want to read my attempts at parody. Trust me on this.

This chapter, your hint is _to pay attention to people's physical characteristics as mentioned in the story._ You should take this into account for the past couple of chapters (and author's notes), as well. I'm not talking about things that are established canon here, like Yuugi's comment about Set's having blue eyes. I'm referring to things that are specifically WITS-related, like how characters walk, talk, and any absentminded habits they may have.

If you've followed all the clues – rereading, writing down/keeping a mental list of the characteristics I've told you to watch for, and remembering canon – then by the end of this chapter you should have enough information to figure out "whodunit." "Why" is still going to be a stretch, and so just this once I'm going to be nice and offer you a second clue. The clue itself is a two-parter, the first part being from playthedamncard over on LJ. This part runs thus: a writer, asking for help with a story, asked the rest of the PTDC'ers what we thought each YGO character's greatest fear would be (part of my answer to Kaiba's fear can be found in the short story _Claustrophobia_). Without giving you the answers people came up with, I'm going to say that perhaps you should think about what the WITS characters' greatest fears might be, including canon characters (for example, WITS-Mahado's greatest fear is having to watch Atem die). The second part of the clue is . . . one I just realised you guys don't have when I went to copy/paste it. Damn. No wonder nobody's picked it up yet. Okay, it's a line I cut for length during rewrite a few chapters ago, and you need the original version to get the clue:

"I am, little Aibou. I find myself grieved, but neither physically ill nor suffering from such maladies of the mind so deep as to induce me yet to take more drastic measures to combat them."

The important part here, which really should not have been cut (see what happens when I try to edit for length?) is the "yet." Keep in mind that Yuugi correctly guesses that Atem is talking about suicide when he says that line.

If you're still totally stymied and you don't want to try for the prize, drop me a line and if I'm in a good mood I may reveal all – but if I do, I'm holding it in good faith that you won't tell someone else. Please be honest, okay?

Good luck!

Nina

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 19/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina  
Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**, with a bit of onesided **loyalshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 12 865  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **mentions of violence** and **naked or partially naked characters.**  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: There is a trial. Set has a stupid slave. The perpetrator continues to not be caught. Madu is a little shit. Mahado is made of awesome.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: None.  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in all relevant countries, **both Yuugi and Atem are now above the age of statutory consent.**  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **T.K. Yuy**, who told me again and again that it was perfectly okay that I needed to work on something else to kind of recharge my brain cells. You guys owe her for this chapter.

* * *

Yuugi sighed and pulled his hair loose for the sixth time. He was going to be late if he didn't hurry up, but Atem had spent the past two weeks comforting Yuugi when he spent several nights throwing up and barely able to keep down water, when the very idea of doing anything but lying curled on his side was ridiculous, when Mahado and Mana had stripped him to his bare skin and spent several hours draping cool cloths over various portions of his body after his fever returned with a vengeance. Enough was enough.

Yuugi had nothing special to dress up for, but in spite of Atem's reassurances, Yuugi was starting to feel uneasy about being the sickly slave boy. There was nothing he could do immediately about the weight he'd lost, but he wasn't completely stupid in cosmetic matters. He wanted Atem to remember what Yuugi could look like when he wasn't trying to recover from a potentially lethal poison.

Yuugi stared at his reflection in the mirror, sighed, and decided there was nothing else for it; he threw his head forward, ran his fingers into his hair, and rubbed. Then he flipped his head back, took all the hair that fell into his face, and twisted it off to one side with the clip. It was hardly supermodel material, but Yuugi was out of time. He hurried off to the kitchens, grabbed some bread, and headed for the throne room at a run. He made it just in time; Atem was already in the hallway. Yuugi skidded to a stop before they could run right into each other. Atem threw out his hands to catch Yuugi while he was still at arm's length. Atem smiled at him.

"You're flushed, little Aibou." There was a subtext Yuugi did not quite want to think about; he hadn't been flushed since the night of Atem's birthday. He decided he was just being paranoid and dismissed it.

"I had to run," he said. "I was kind of late."

Atem chuckled and took a step backward. "After you."

Yuugi slipped into the throne room, made his respects to the council, took his usual place. Atem came in and sat. Yuugi settled back.

The first hours of the morning passed without incident; Set led a discussion on the activities of some of the cities nearer the Delta. Mahado was called to report on the white-haired apparition that had been spotted in the desert once again. His opinion was that the apparition was no threat; the physical appearance, willowy and slim, led him to believe the apparition was a woman. What she was doing in the desert he couldn't say.

It was sometime near the end of Mahado's report that the doors at the end of the room opened. Yuugi looked up, half-expecting to see Kisara, half-conscious and ready to faint in Set's arms. It didn't happen, of course; the only person there was one of the younger members of the guard, who approached and said that one of the slave girls wished to talk to Atem. She claimed to have information she thought might be important in regard to the poisoned boy. Atem ordered her brought in at once.

The girl was shaking as she approached the throne and knelt. Yuugi had the distinct impression she'd probably never seen Atem up close before. Atem asked her name, and she gave it - Eshe. He asked what information she had, and then reassured her when she bit her lip and trembled more. There would be no penalty to her if she were innocent.

"Shemei said you wanted to know who set the tables," she said, her voice shaky. "She gave you my name."

"She did," Atem agreed; Yuugi knew he'd been waiting to talk to this girl, who'd fallen ill herself shortly after the banquet.

"I wasn't able to complete my duties that day, Great Pharaoh. I was ill."

"Then someone took your place?"

Eshe nodded. Atem leaned forward.

"If you could tell me how the replacement was made, sister, I'd be ever so grateful. You speak the truth of having knowledge we need."

The girl looked slightly shocked at being addressed as "sister" by a man whose sandals probably cost more than she earned in a year, but continued all the same.

"I talked to Idut, who oversaw us that day. She told me to rest, and that she'd have Madu see to my extra tasks."

"Madu."

Eshe nodded again. Atem leaned back and cast a glance in Set's direction. "Do you think we could take him from his duties at this hour?"

"Most likely."

Atem glanced at one of the slaves sitting across the room from Yuugi and addressed an order for Madu to be found and brought to the throne room immediately. He returned his attention to Eshe.

"What you've told us may help us greatly," Atem said. "Go your way now, and should I need you again, you'll be sent for."

The girl nodded. Yuugi watched her go. Atem waited. Presently Madu appeared, looking sullen and defiant. It was, as far as Yuugi knew, the first time he and Atem had come face to face since Yuugi and Atem's exposure. The tension was so great Yuugi wanted to scream just to break it.

"Madu."

"Great Pharaoh." Yuugi had never heard the words said before with so little respect.

"Have you been told why you're here?"

"You wished to speak to me."

"I did," Atem agreed. "About your part in the last festival. You set the high table for a girl who fell ill."

"Yes."

"Were you aware that one of the goblets was reversed?"

"I was told to set it that way."

"And did you put something in the reversed goblet?"

"Yes."

A murmur ran around the room; to admit his guilt, and admit it so openly! Atem's eyes hardened.

"What did you put into it?"

"White powder, for the foreign boy."

Atem and Yuugi were both on their feet in an instant, Atem's hand on the side of the God Pyramid.

"Wait!"

Atem's eyes darted to Yuugi. Yuugi knew he had only seconds to keep Atem from making a terrible mistake, and so of course his throat locked up and no words would come out. There were only Yuugi's semi-coherent thoughts, beating in his head like the wings of trapped sparrows.

_Don't please don't know why he don't do this please don't know what you're doing please please ask why don't just please wait ask_

Yuugi opened his mouth to try to make sense of these thoughts. Nothing happened. Atem's eyes pulled away. Yuugi closed his eyes. He wanted to cry.

_Too late._

"Tell me now why you did it."

Yuugi's eyes snapped open. Atem was once again seated on the throne, even though it was clear he was holding himself back from simply tearing Madu apart with his bare hands.

"I had my orders from Idut."

Atem's face was shocked. He considered this new development, waved a guard forward to pull Madu off to the side, and sent the earlier slave away again to find Idut.

"We'll see if you speak the truth."

* * *

Idut looked incredibly bewildered when she entered the throne room; Yuugi, now sitting again, guessed she hadn't been told anything.

"Great Pharaoh?"

"There are important things I need to ask you. Questions that probably should have been asked long ago, when we last spoke of this matter."

Idut's brow furrowed, but her comment was carefully neutral. "Yes, Great Pharaoh?"

"This man – " Atem pointed to Madu – "claims that on the day of the last festival, you asked him to take the place of a servant who fell ill."

"It's true, Great Pharaoh."

"And that you told him to set the table with a single goblet reversed."

"Yes, for the powder."

"What powder is this?"

Idut's face took on a slightly fearful expression. "In the packet Shemei gave me for the boy Aibou, Great Pharaoh. I would have done it myself, but I had so many things to take care of it just seemed to make more sense to give it to Madu."

Atem considered this. "And what did Shemei say to you when she gave you this packet of powder?"

Idut's face flushed with embarrassment, and she looked away.

"These are things we must know, Idut. The packet you were given may have contained the poison to which the slave Aibou fell victim."

Idut's face went from rosy red to ashen in a moment. Yuugi could only begin to imagine her fear at hearing the words.

"Great Pharaoh, you must believe I didn't know – "

"I do believe," Atem interrupted. "But we must know the truth, Idut."

Idut's face flushed again. Yuugi saw her lips move, but the words weren't audible.

"Speak without fear of recrimination if you only speak true."

The flush grew deeper. "She said you ought to know that with everything else she had to do she didn't have the time to make sure your bed was warmed." Idut looked away again. It was Atem's turn to look bewildered.

"She believed it to be – "

Yuugi didn't know the next word, but Idut's statement – and the blush that accompanied her nod – led him to believe it probably meant "aphrodisiac." Word in the slave quarter, apparently, was that the intention had been for Yuugi to jump into Atem's bed, not to collapse on the floor.

Yuugi wasn't surprised when Shemei was summoned next; in the pause between questionings Yuugi had the time to marvel at how perfectly efficient the plan had been. None of the slaves had thought to mention the packet to Atem because all of them believed it had been delivered on his orders – who else would ask for something to be put in Yuugi's wine? – and that as such he already knew about it. In the meantime, the perpetrator had the chance to cover any tracks he might have left.

The questions Atem asked Shemei produced a great amount of distress; she'd had no idea she was participating in an attempted murder, and it took Atem a fair amount of time to calm her enough to find out who had put the lethal little packet into her hands. Then an uproar occurred.

According to Shemei, the packet had been delivered to the kitchen quarter by one of Set's slaves.

Set's face flushed. "I don't know what kind of nonsense you're spinning, woman, but – "

Atem put a hand on his arm to quiet him. "Which slave?"

"The Greek." Shemei pronounced the word as though it carried an infectious disease. "The one with the scar on his arm."

Atem turned to Set. "Where will we find him?"

Set ran an absent hand over his face. "I – probably with the labourers. His duties with me are mostly restricted to the morning."

Atem nodded. Yuugi watched as a guard went to find the Greek man. In the interim – during which Shemei and Idut returned to the kitchens – Set made an angry protest that seemed to mean mostly that he would never have taken part in this kind of thing, and that any suggestion to the contrary was absolutely ridiculous. Atem nodded absently, his eyes still straight ahead until the soldier reappeared at the far end of the room with the slave in tow. Then Atem turned his attention to Set.

"Shall I handle him, or would you rather?"

"It might be best if I start, if you concur. He's a complete imbecile."

Atem nodded, and when the slave – who looked incredibly strong and twice as stupid – presented himself before the throne, Atem waved a hand in Set's direction.

"Irakli."

Irakli the Greek turned his attention toward Set. "My lord?"

"I have some questions for you."

"Yes, my lord."

"Do you remember the last festival, two weeks ago?"

Irakli looked as though the effort of remembering the last festival might break him. Then he nodded. "The one with the slave what got poisoned, so it was."

"That's the one. Irakli, did you give a packet of powder to Shemei the day of that festival?"

Irakli stared at Set blankly. Yuugi could see him physically restraining himself from simply shaking the man. "You know the head of the kitchens, don't you?"

Irakli nodded. "Her with the boy what died, she is."

"Yes. On the day of the festival, Irakli, did you give her something?"

"Gave her a little fold of papyrus sheet I got the night before, I did indeed, my lord."

"And was there anything in this papyrus sheet?"

"Couldn't say, my lord. Didn't look."

"Did you tell her what was to be done with it?"

"Put in a goblet, so it was."

"Whose goblet?"

"Don't remember, my lord. Think it might have been for the pharaoh's boyslave, but it's been a time since then."

Set nodded slowly, clearly trying to gather his thoughts. As a rule Yuugi tended to disagree with Set's mental assessments of people, but in this case there could be no doubt he was right – Irakli took stupid to a whole new level.

"And where did you get the papyrus, Irakli?"

"My lord?"

"The papyrus you gave to Shemei," Set said. Yuugi had to admire the man's patience. "Where did you get it?"

"From Mahado, my lord."

There was another uproar. Mahado turned pale. The eyes Yuugi turned on him were wide and betrayed.

Atem quieted both slaves and council. Mahado was the first to break the sudden silence, his voice shaking.

"Great Pharaoh, you must believe – you know I wouldn't – I would swear – " Mahado reached for the cord of the Millennium Ring and began to pull it over his head. Atem laid a hand on Mahado's arm.

"Peace. That won't be necessary just now." Atem turned his attention on Irakli. "Where did you see Mahado when he gave you this papyrus, Irakli?"

At first Yuugi thought Irakli would not answer; he was absolutely dumbstruck at being addressed by the pharaoh, and wrong-footed at having a question thrown at him from a new direction. He glanced back at Set. Set gestured toward Atem.

"When the pharaoh speaks, Irakli, you answer."

Irakli nodded fervently and looked back at Atem.

"'Twas in the hallway between my quarter and my lord's, Great-Pharaoh-who-is-morning-star."

Yuugi had to stifle a giggle at the address. Atem did not look particularly impressed.

"And how did you know it was Mahado to whom you spoke?"

"By his clothes, Great Pharaoh. He doesn't dress like my lord."

"And did you see his face, Irakli?"

"I didn't, Great Pharaoh. He only put the papyrus in my hand as he passed, he did, and his headdress was in the way."

"Then how did you know what to do with the papyrus?"

"He told me as he passed. Said it in going by, so he did."

"And did you observe anything else about Mahado when he gave you the papyrus?"

"I thought maybe he was sick, I did, but then I saw him later and he was just fine, Great Pharaoh, so he was."

"What made you think so?"

"His voice was low, Great Morning Star, like one with the bad throat, and he limped on his right leg – heavy-like."

"You're sure it was his right leg, and not his left?"

Irakli nodded. "Favoured his left like anything, Great Pharaoh. Seen him do so before on cold days, so I have, but not so much before. Real light it was before, Great Pharaoh."

Atem steepled his fingers thoughtfully. "And you say you didn't see his face."

"Never, Great-Pharaoh-who-is-morning-star."

"What exactly did he tell you, slave Irakli?"

There was a pause, and then Irakli spoke again. "Why, said that the papyrus needed to go to the kitchens, and on your orders, said he. Quick as anything, before the feast. By morning for sure, he said, and I gave it to that woman, I did, her who watches all them like anything."

"On my orders, you say?"

"Swear on my life, so I do, Great Pharaoh. T'were his exact words, they were. 'The pharaoh wishes,' said he, and told me what to do with the papyrus then, he did."

Atem nodded slowly. "You've been a great help, slave Irakli."

"It's a pleasure to be so to the Great Morning Star, so it is, Great Pharaoh."

Atem turned the Greek back over to Set, who dismissed him. Irakli was on his way out when Atem stopped him.

"Irakli."

"Great Pharaoh?"

"I have one last question for you."

"I will answer Great-Pharaoh-who-is-morning-star."

"When you met Mahado in the hallway, did he wear the Ring?"

"The Ring, Great Pharaoh?"

"The golden pendant that even now rests on his chest."

Irakli studied the Millennium Ring carefully, and then shook his head. "Never in life, Great Pharaoh, so he didn't."

Atem nodded. "That's all."

He waited until Irakli was out of the room, and when he spoke, it was to Set.

"He _is_ quite the idiot, isn't he?"

"Evening star," Mahado said, his voice bearing the slightly pained tones of one whose native language was being badly butchered by a foreigner. Atem twisted to look at him. "It's 'Great Pharaoh who is the morning and evening star.' I'd swear it on my lot and honour that fool's never addressed royalty before in his life."

Atem chuckled briefly, and when he stopped, Yuugi was shocked to see him still smiling - _smiling!_ - at his treacherous court magician.

"So, Mahado, what say you? What possessed you, the evening before the festival, to walk about in the main palace, outside of council in formal dress but without the Millennium Ring, favouring the wrong leg, and speaking in tones so unfamiliar even a slave you barely know was able to notice it?"

Yuugi sat back, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty. It hadn't been Mahado after all.

"I say there's a very bad actor among us, Great Pharaoh. One cunning and cold-blooded, but not particularly good at impersonation."

"And yet he managed well enough to fool a slave for at least a few moments." Atem turned to Set. "If we were to bring him back and get every man of the proper build in this palace to imitate Mahado, do you think he could pick out the one he actually spoke to?"

Set shook his head. "Not by half. He'd just as soon have us believe it was the boy himself as to find the true criminal. Given that he didn't realise he was looking at an impersonator, he might even swear that the whole thing's a fool's errand, and choose the real Mahado anyway." A pause. "It makes sense. The perpetrator found the stupidest slave in all the palace to carry his message. He's as safe now as if he'd boarded the next ship to Punt." Set sighed. "And that's the end of that."

"Hardly. With the ruse exposed, we can always hope perhaps someone saw something they shouldn't have – perhaps even the false Mahado disappearing into the perpetrator's chamber. And no further attempts can be made in such a way. People will be watching." Atem sighed, clearly dissatisfied. He turned his eyes on Madu.

"I suppose you're free to go. It's not yet a crime to be a fool."

Yuugi watched Madu's exit with a feeling of dread somewhere deep in his stomach, and wished only for the day to be over.

* * *

"I'm beginning to think Set's right. The gods did teach you how to cheat."

Yuugi heard Atem's answering chuckle as he pushed the door open a little wider to enter Atem's room. He'd wanted to get the day over with, and so of course it had stretched on toward forever. Now he slipped past Mahado and Atem and sat on the side of the bed, watching the game of Reversi the pair were finishing up. Mahado declined a rematch and left. Yuugi curled against Atem's side. Atem wrapped his arms around Yuugi's middle.

"You look discontent, little Aibou."

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"A lot of stuff. You. Mahado. Madu." Yuugi shifted restlessly. "What's going to happen to him?"

Atem shrugged. "I suppose he'll be let alone. Although certainly it does seem a poor pay of repaying us."

" . . . repaying?"

Atem shifted. "Madu was brought here when he was eight for stealing bread to feed his sister. My father chose to forgive his crime, and gave him a place in the palace to earn his sister's keep. For awhile there was talk of his being taught to be a scribe, but he was lazy about his lessons, and happy, I suppose, to settle for servanthood. He's given signs of wishing he'd done the other, but really – it's his own fault for not taking his chance when he had it."

Yuugi nodded. There was a pause, and then he asked another question.

"What was Mahado talking about today when he said Irakli got it wrong?"

Atem chuckled. "It's a title, little Aibou. Great Morning and Evening Star. Mahado's been around the palace for close on to forty years, and I imagine he knows them all by now."

"_Creepy._"

Atem raised his eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?"

Yuugi shrugged, and a pale blush spread over his face as he realised he'd just addressed Atem in Japanese. "Sorry. Don't you think it's just a little weird that he – you know – loves someone young enough to be his kid?"

It was Atem's turn to shrug. "I believe you were the one who said something about the heart not being able to control its desires, little Aibou."

"Yeah, but that's different," Yuugi protested. "I mean, he knew you when you were a _baby_. There's something really weird about that."

Atem shrugged again. "I daresay it was no ordinary course of events for him when he went from wanting to kill me with his bare hands to finding me attractive."

"Well, he – wait, what?" It took several moments for the word "kill" to register in Yuugi's mind, but when it did, it registered clearly.

"I distinctly remember – I was perhaps nine at the time – Mahado turning me over to Siamun after I broke something in his quarters and saying 'You deal with him before I do.' I'm sure it wasn't the only time – he strapped me more than once for hiding from lessons, and I know he took Set on as a pupil in the hope that maybe having a friend to study with would keep me in one place." Atem grinned. "I've been told I was a very difficult child."

Yuugi decided it would be safer not to comment on that statement.

"I wonder if Mahado's going to talk to Madu. He's _pissed_." Yuugi did not make a habit of swearing, but there was absolutely no other word that described the state in which Mahado had left the throne room that day.

"I'd say he has the right, little Aibou. He nearly fell under official questioning today because some ass in this palace tried to lay the blame for attempted murder at his door. The only reason I held him off was because I'd already heard enough to tell me something was wrong with Irakli's story, and such a man is too stupid to lie. I sincerely doubt you'd be happy, either."

"I didn't say he doesn't have the right," Yuugi protested. "I just . . . I mean, Madu didn't know what he was doing. It's not his fault." He hoped Atem would catch the confused kind of thought that accompanied his words – Yuugi was not entirely sure how to articulate his fear of Mahado's temper, made all the more frightening by its seeming practically nonexistent for days and months on end. Atem shrugged.

"He's a good man and a just one, little Aibou. Any exchange between Madu and himself will not be unearned." Atem pulled Yuugi into his arms. "Don't worry yourself about things you can't change. You saved two people today, and such should be your concern."

" . . . two?"

Atem stroked Yuugi's hair. "Someday, little Aibou, I will have to stand judgment like any other man, and when that day comes, I will have to account for every soul I ever enshrined – or ordered thus – in the House of Tablets. These are decisions I have made on the basis of Ma'at, and can be justified as necessary for the good of my people. But today I allowed my temper to overwhelm me, and had you not spoken on his behalf, it's likely that Madu's body would have been buried at sunrise tomorrow. I would have become as guilty of murder as those on whom I pass judgment. And so in speaking you saved me also, though you knew it not when you spoke."

Yuugi curled into Atem's arms uneasily. He didn't like thinking about what the God Pyramid could do, or Atem's part in using its power.

"I just . . . enough people have died. You said I'm probably safe now. There's no reason to do anything else. Is there?"

"That depends entirely on whether or not we find the guilty party, little Aibou. If I ever lay hands on the man, the House of Tablets will look like a mercy compared to the punishment I lay on him."

Yuugi pulled away. He didn't want to think about someone being killed or maimed for life because of him, even if they had tried to kill him. Atem let him go.

"It isn't how men in your land do things, is it?"

Yuugi shook his head. In Japan men went to prison for crimes. They weren't killed, and their souls certainly weren't enshrined in stone tablets. Of course, in Japan even a case of attempted assassination wouldn't have been decided by the emperor.

"And are things better, do you think, in your land?"

Yuugi recognised the question as a test. He was questioning Atem's judgment for the second time in a day – not exactly the most sterling testimony to loyalty. He shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I just don't like the whole soul-sealing thing much."

"Would you like it better if I left criminals to roam the land unhindered, to kill and destroy as they saw fit?"

Yuugi covered his face with his hands. This conversation was going all wrong.

"I didn't say that," he protested at last. "I just . . . wish there was some other way."

"And yet I've told you there is no other way."

"Just because you don't think there's any other way doesn't mean I can't wish there was one," Yuugi said, the beginnings of temper starting to creep into his voice. Atem, he thought, was being difficult on purpose. "We can always hope that maybe someday we'll find another way and things will be better – that someday nobody's going to steal, or kill, or – stuff like that."

Atem looked slightly taken aback. Then he reached, tentatively indeed, for Yuugi's hand.

"You're quite the idealist, little Aibou."

"What's wrong with that?" Yuugi was well aware that there were serious problems with viewing the world through rose-coloured glasses, but he also knew that being an eternal pessimist was just as bad. "It's like the Pyramids. Nobody would have ever built them if everybody'd gone around saying 'it's impossible to build something that big, so let's just forget it.' There's always a chance that there's something more, but you can't know if it's possible or not if you never try."

Atem smiled faintly, although the smile didn't seem to be directed at Yuugi. "Sometimes I think I need to be reminded of that." He ran his thumb over the back of Yuugi's hand. "But if you're trying to wheedle a promise out of me that I won't punish the man who tried to kill you, little Aibou, your battle is already lost." He reached out to capture Yuugi in his arms once again. "Madu I'll forgive for your sake, but nobody in this land will raise a hand against you unless they wish to see my hand raised against them. Not a soul among them." He stroked Yuugi's hair. "I wouldn't have you harmed if someone offered to put the entire rest of the world in my hands in exchange."

"Just do me a favour, all right? Don't forget that I'm not the only person in the world."

Atem rested his lips against the cup of Yuugi's ear and spoke softly. "In daily matters, little Aibou, it is my burden and responsibility to forever remember such. Just now, I'd prefer to forget for a few hours."

Yuugi reached up and tangled his fingers in Atem's hair. "Just not forever, okay? I don't want the entire country going to war or something because of me."

Atem nodded. "If such is your wish, little Aibou, I shall ever try to grant it." He paused, and when he spoke again Yuugi could hear the smile in his voice. "You speak as one who understood well the responsibilities of state before ever you set foot in my palace."

Yuugi shrugged. "This might surprise you, but I'm really not anybody important at home." He considered adding a disclaimer about his gaming status, and then decided not to. It was only an unnecessary complication.

"Perhaps our definitions of importance should be revised, then."

Yuugi shrugged. "I'm actually kind of happy being unimportant."

"You're so no longer, little Aibou," Atem murmured. "Even should every man in this land call you a slave, to me you are a treasure beyond price, and such treasures are far more important than any title."

Yuugi rested his head against Atem's shoulder, and tried to not think too hard about how this kind of thing had worked out for Helen of Troy.

* * *

It began with shouts in the corridor. Yuugi, still sleeping, didn't notice a thing until Atem shook him awake.

"Little Aibou!"

Yuugi sat up. The grey of early morning streamed through his window. He swung his legs off the tick and prepared to stand.

And then he realised there were tears in Atem's eyes.

" . . . Atem?"

"Madu left sometime last night or this morning, little Aibou. He's run away."

Yuugi reached automatically for his wrap. "So now what?"

Atem closed his eyes. The first two tears trickled down his cheeks. "I don't know. Really, I'd rather let him run."

"Why?"

"It's clear he no longer feels himself to have a place here. His personal possessions are gone, and Shemei said there was bread missing from the pantries."

"Why did he go?" Yuugi thought with a pang of Atem's last words to Madu the day before. _It's not yet a crime to be a fool._

"I don't know, little Aibou. He mentioned his plans to no one. But I think I could take a guess."

"What do you think?"

"Because of his part in your poisoning, little Aibou. And certainly not because of guilt."

"Why not?"

"Shemei . . . found this when she went out this morning to light the ovens."

Atem picked up a piece of folded linen cloth. Yuugi's stomach twisted. Somehow he knew what he'd see when Atem unfolded it, knew as surely as he knew his own name what Madu had destroyed and left in the kitchen quarter.

The angry knife-slashes across the carefully painted grid were bad.

But it was the place where the expensive cedar board had been cracked right down the middle that made Yuugi's heart break in two.

* * *

Things in Atem's throne room never seemed to happen without a great deal of drama. Yuugi could never understand how Atem managed to keep even the slightest amount of sanity in the face of throne room chaos, especially on days like this one, when the afternoon was hot and lazy and humid and nobody really wanted to be where they were.

It had begun with some argument between Set and Atem that was so fundamentally stupid nobody could have failed to recognise it as simply a product of heat and frustration. They'd been on the verge of settling down and going about their usual business when a commotion broke out in the hallway. Yuugi could hear the rough voices of soldiers. Mahado and Set both stepped neatly in front of Atem, blocking him from view. Yuugi prepared to slide in behind them, if it seemed necessary.

Then he saw the person the soldiers were trying to hold back, and decided things were probably okay. The woman was small, and pretty even in rough dress and with tears on her face; dressed up for some occasion, she would have put even a nobleman's daughter to shame.

"I beg Pharaoh in your greatness and mercy . . . "

Yuugi was horrified when he realised who he was looking at. The jaw was rounded and feminine, the hair not shaved, and the contours of the body different, but the face was almost identical to one he'd last seen in front of this throne perhaps a week before.

Madu had been caught stealing.

Atem was going to dismiss Madu's sister and wash his hands of the whole matter; Yuugi could tell. His eyes met Atem's over the desperate girl's head. Whatever Madu had done . . . it wasn't worth his life.

_Please . . . for me._

Atem turned his eyes back to Madu's sister, frightened and trembling.

"Shada."

"Great Pharaoh?"

"Go with this woman."

Shada nodded and left his place.

Yuugi only hoped it wasn't too late.

* * *

Yuugi was turning down Atem's bedcovers when Mahado came in. Yuugi got out of his way so he could sit down; even a blind man couldn't have missed the exhaustion that practically hung in a cloud around him. Atem raised an eyebrow at him.

"You look like you could do with a bowl of beer."

Mahado chuckled ruefully. "Honestly? Were there such a thing, I could do with something stronger than that." He ran a hand over his face. "I've just come from the complex."

"How is he?"

Mahado shrugged. "As well as a man can be when he's had his back flayed open, I suppose. At least the spine isn't exposed. I sincerely doubt he'll ever walk a straight line again, though – if he's able to walk at all." He sighed. "Mana practically chased me out. She said I needed rest. Rest, she says – when I have a man who might be dying in my rooms."

Yuugi slipped out to get something for Mahado to eat. About twenty minutes after Shada's departure Mahado had been summoned from the throne room when it had become clear that though Madu was still alive, he was badly injured. Yuugi imagined a fair amount of Mahado's haggard appearance could be traced back to not eating since midday at latest and having little, if anything, to drink since late afternoon. Any good slave – and Yuugi liked to think he did his work properly – would remedy the situation promptly.

For Yuugi, this was something of a test; he trusted Atem, and certainly it had been made more than clear to him that he had nothing to fear, but even so the quiet voice in the back of his head kept trying to tell him leaving the pair alone together was a very bad idea. Yuugi told the quiet voice to shut up. There was very little danger, he thought, in leaving Atem with a fifty-something man who'd spent the past six hours or so tending to someone who'd been beaten so badly he couldn't even stand.

**Glad to see you're finally learning a little bit of sense.**

_You can shut up, too._

Yuugi returned to Atem's room with bread, wine, and a small bowl of raw peas. Atem was only awake because of his completely abnormal and eccentric habits – everyone else had been in bed at least an hour ago – and Yuugi had searched in vain for meat or some of the rice that had been served with dinner. Mahado and Atem were still talking quietly about Madu. Mahado broke off to thank Yuugi and eat. Yuugi went back to his evening chores, which mostly consisted of straightening what few things Atem had managed to disarrange during the day. After awhile Mahado broke into Yuugi's private thoughts.

"And you, I need to deal with you in the next day or two before Set takes the Rod to my head for not getting to it sooner."

"Huh?" Yuugi stopped in the act of folding Atem's cloak.

"He's been after me to put a charm on you for protection." Mahado shook his head. "I'd like to see him trying to cover three jobs at once. And then he can tell me off for not getting things done in a timely manner."

Atem chuckled. "Maybe you should think about slowing down a little. You have to eat and sleep once in awhile just like the rest of the human race."

"I keep telling myself I'm going to do that, and then – "

"Things just keep getting in the way," Atem finished with him. Yuugi had the feeling this was Mahado's version of Jii-chan's "I'm going to give up dealing with antique games next year because I'm just getting too old for this." He would say it to his dying day and never once in his heart actually mean it. Mahado finished his bread.

"Do you think Set's still awake?"

Atem shrugged. "Possibly. More likely he's just gone to bed. It's well on to midnight, isn't it?"

"I wonder what he'd do if he woke up tomorrow and found me sleeping in his front room. I have this feeling Mana's going to just shoo me away if I go home again, and I don't fancy staying outside at this time of year."

Atem snorted into his hand. "You might want to go see if Set's still awake if you don't plan on sleeping on a floor tonight, then."

Mahado nodded and stood up. "So I'll wish you goodnight. Is it a problem if I stay in the complex tomorrow?"

"Of course not. Take care of yourself."

"I'll worry about that when I have the time." And Mahado was gone.

Atem shook his head. "He's going to run himself right into the ground one of these days."

Yuugi put a fresh tunic on Atem's dressing bench and shrugged. "He looks okay to me. Just tired."

"He's not as young as he likes to think he is, little Aibou." Atem patted the side of the bed, and Yuugi sat down next to him. "I appreciate your attitudes toward him this evening. It means a great deal."

Yuugi shrugged. A blush was forming on his face. "I guess . . . you kind of pointed out the other night that I was being a real hypocrite. I'm trying to stop."

"I think it's a great deal easier to be hypocritical when those you care for are involved." He paused. "It's what Siamun would call 'the human condition.'"

Yuugi put his arms around Atem's waist. "Yeah, well – " he shrugged. "That doesn't make it right."

Atem chuckled and stroked Yuugi's hair. "Sometimes I think perhaps it's your capacity for such thoughts that defines you best, little Aibou." He grew solemn. "You were correct, today, when you thought I'd leave Madu to his fate. You've quite the talent at sending thoughts deliberately."

Yuugi decided the second half of Atem's subject change was probably a place he didn't want to go, and so he ignored it. "Just because he did something he shouldn't have doesn't make that right, either."

"I'm starting to think perhaps you're at least partially right." He paused. "After all, if you hadn't forgiven me . . . I'd be alone just now."

"Forgiven you – for what?"

"The reason that brought us together, little Aibou. The fire-game." Atem paused again. "Mahado tried to tell me he knows I wouldn't have let you die that day, but sometimes I wonder at how ready I was to put you out of the way simply because you had the courage to stand up to me." Another of those uncomfortable pauses. "It would have been the greatest mistake of my life."

"You know, I almost forgot about that." It was true. Occasionally Yuugi thought of it, but it had come to be overshadowed by other events and larger truths. "You're not the same person now that you were then." He paused. "Anyway, you're not the first person who's tried to kill me, and if I can forgive him, then I can forgive you."

"I like to think you're right, little Aibou."

Yuugi wound his fingers through Atem's. "If you do it again, we might have to have a serious talk about where this relationship is going, though. Just so you know."

Atem started to laugh. Yuugi grinned. He wasn't very good at Set's dry, deadpan kind of humour, but he thought he'd pulled that one off relatively well.

"I'd have to go mad completely before even thinking of such." He pulled Yuugi into a close embrace. They sat in a comfortable kind of silence for a time. Yuugi was the one who broke it.

"What's going to happen to Madu? I kind of missed most of that."

Atem shrugged. "Difficult to say. Mahado has hopes for his survival, but says the chance of complete recovery is almost nil. And what we'll do with him when he's able to walk again – if he's able to walk again – is beyond either of us to say. I don't think I could trust him again, and Mahado thinks keeping someone such in his quarters would be beyond madness, given the kind of things he keeps there."

"Things?" Yuugi wondered if perhaps there was a supply of arsenic in one of Mahado's cupboards.

"All kinds of things. When I was twelve I nearly blew the entire place up playing with calcium and water."

Yuugi, who had done similar things on a smaller scale with Jounouchi and Honda in chemistry class, started laughing. Atem joined him in chuckles.

"It is rather absurd, isn't it?"

"He let you play with _calcium_?" Even for Mahado – who was occasionally far too absentminded for anyone's good – this went beyond "brain lapse" and into "outright stupidity."

"I never said he _let_ me, exactly." He paused. "And it was Set's idea."

Yuugi began to ask what would possess a more or less responsible seventeen-year-old to put calcium and water in the hands of a twelve-year-old, and then remembered Kaiba asking if he couldn't take home some materials for an extra-credit experiment. Yuugi'd heard him telling Miho, very quietly indeed, on the way out that he thought Mokuba would find it absolutely fascinating. Yuugi stayed silent. What was the point of the question?

Atem sighed. "All _right_, I talked Set into getting it out of the cupboard after he said he didn't think it was such a good idea to be toying with such things while Mahado wasn't around. But that's beside the point," he insisted. "The point is, neither of us feel entirely comfortable entrusting Madu with duties in a part of the palace where he'd be in everyday contact with all kinds of dangerous materials. Mahado knows how to handle them properly, and his servants are trained to handle the materials in his workrooms so they don't injure themselves or anyone else, but for exactly that reason he has to choose his servants carefully. You came very close indeed to working with him instead of me, in fact – he was impressed by your honesty." Atem sighed. "But a man who steals and holds grudges – that's not the kind of man either of us think should be entrusted with potentially dangerous magical artifacts and materials."

Yuugi said nothing. Atem had a very good point. Giving Madu unhindered access to the kinds of things Mahado might own – Yuugi's imagination filled a cupboard with cyanide, various kinds of acids, and malicious spellbooks – was probably a very, very bad idea. And yet –

"Then what's going to happen to him? I mean, if people outside the palace were ready to murder him – "

"Impossible to say until we know what he's capable of doing," Atem cut in. "It's rather foolish to talk of him serving anyone again until we know whether he'll be able to walk. I imagine Mahado will be able to come up with something. He's a rather creative sort."

Yuugi nodded his assent. He'd done all he could do for now.

His sleep that night was not entirely easy – there was too much on his mind for it to be that – but it was sound, all the same.

* * *

"Little Aibou."

Yuugi moaned indistinctly and rolled over. His shoulder was shaken again.

"Little Aibou, don't make me force you up."

"Nnnnnnnnn."

"Yuu-gi."

Yuugi rolled over and scrubbed a hand across his eyes. Atem was sitting by the feather tick. He seemed to have been watching Yuugi sleep.

"You're wanted in Mahado's rooms today."

"Nnnnn?" Yuugi's eyes were just barely open; he wasn't ready to process information yet. Further, he was pretty sure it was the weekend. Why was Atem talking about something that sounded like work on a weekend?

"Come, little Aibou. Wake and dress, and meet me in the kitchens."

Yuugi swung his legs sleepily off the tick. He was one of the slaves who got the first day of every other weekend off, a fact that never failed to confuse him. He was still more than a little unclear on why they were called "slaves" when they were treated like servants, but he wouldn't complain. Having work to do was good. Having the occasional day off was also good, because it was a chance for a lie-in. Now Atem was taking it away from him, and Yuugi wouldn't have it again for two weeks. It was enough to make him more than a little grumpy.

Atem was prompt to make it up to him, a cut apple sitting next to Yuugi's morning bread and beer. Yuugi glanced first at the apple slices and then up at Atem. A light blush spread across his face.

"Um – would it be a problem if – I got some cheese?"

Atem's brow furrowed in confusion. "Of course it's not a problem. You know where it's kept."

Yuugi was fairly certain Atem probably thought him temporarily insane when he smiled widely and hurried off to get cheese, but Atem held his tongue all the same until Yuugi laid a small piece of cheese on top of an apple slice and bit into it happily.

" . . . little Aibou?"

Yuugi paid no attention. He'd first had apples and cheese in his English literature class in ninth grade, when they'd studied Shakespeare. The teacher had arranged a proper medieval British dinner, and so for lunch one day everyone in the class had feasted on mead and hearth-bread and roast chicken and soup. They'd had apples and cheese with custard for dessert. Yuugi hadn't been too fond of the mead, and roast chicken was nothing new for a boy with an Irish grandmother, but the apples and cheese had been fantastic and he'd been a fan of it as a snack ever since. Tasting it now was like a small piece of home, and nothing was going to disrupt it.

At last he got down to the last piece, and then something occurred to him. He held out the last of the cheese and apple sheepishly.

"Want to try?"

Atem chuckled and shook his head. "I won't take your treat from you, little Aibou. But perhaps some other time."

"Are you sure? It's good." Yuugi did not want to give up the last of his little piece of everyday heaven, but Atem had been kind enough to give him the apple, and Yuugi thought he owed it to him to offer.

"I'll take your word for it. It's your apple, little Aibou."

Yuugi shrugged. "If you're sure."

"I am."

Yuugi bit into the last slice and finished it off – delicious! – and then set to work on the more ordinary fare. Atem joined him. At last Yuugi emptied his bowl of rice and sat back.

"That was good."

Atem chuckled again. "Are you more awake now?"

Yuugi nodded sheepishly. Atem got to his feet. Yuugi bussed up the remnants of their meal and put them neatly on the tray Atem had used to bring the food from the pantries.

"When you're ready, little Aibou, we have a trip to make."

"Where?"

"The complex."

Yuugi nodded his assent and picked up the tray to drop off in the kitchens on their way out. He was more than a little hazy about who lived in the complex and what went on there – was not even sure that it was only "the complex" instead of "the Complex" – but he was well aware that Mahado was the only member of the council who had much of anything to do with the place. Karim and Shada had both mentioned it, and Yuugi thought Isis might live there, but it was Mahado who both lived and worked within its walls. Yuugi wondered what he was wanted for, and then decided not to worry about it. He'd know soon enough.

* * *

The space of five minutes found Yuugi standing in front of a whitewashed building with a green door. Atem knocked on it. Mana answered.

"How is he?"

"Both sleeping," Mana said. "But Mahado should wake soon, if you want to come in. He'd probably be up already if he was keeping normal hours right now."

Yuugi followed Atem into the building, where Mana seated them at a table. He was slightly disappointed; he'd imagined Mahado living somewhere a little less normal. He hadn't expected any neon signs saying "MAD MAGICIAN LIVES HERE," but neither had he expected a perfectly average-looking room with not so much as a sign of occupation by a man who played with magic on a regular basis. The most interesting thing about the place was the large mural depicting Horus and Set that was painted on the wall. Atem glanced into a corner and chuckled the quiet, nervous laughter of someone trying to keep their voice down.

"I wondered where he was being kept."

Yuugi followed Atem's line of sight to a far corner. At first Yuugi thought he was looking at a pile of cloth. Then his mind registered the dark skin and darker hair, and he realised he was looking at a man on a sleeping mat with a rumpled blanket that had been kicked and tossed to just below his waist. The lack of bandages around the torso told him it was probably Mahado, but the scars – so many of them! – gave him a sense of complete disbelief. Yuugi's eyes traced the lash-marks between the shoulders, the last faded reminders of old burns, a knife-wound across the abdomen, the large mass of white scar tissue on one hip. Nobody could have taken that kind of a beating and survived – could they?

**Apparently _someone_ can. Assuming it all happened at the same time, of course.**

Yuugi dragged his eyes away. There was something about all those old scars that filled him with an unreasoning kind of horror. He wondered suddenly how many scars the others might be hiding. Ankhnadin was practically made of scars, while Atem had none – Yuugi had seen his bare skin often enough to know – but he'd also never physically fought in a war.

"It's not pretty, is it?" Atem whispered. "He's had most of those as long as I've known him." He sighed. "It's the price he pays for a combination of loyalty and not being able to just leave the danger to others."

Yuugi looked down at the surface of the table. The Millennium Ring was sitting on it, looking almost as though it had been tossed there by someone who simply didn't care. Mana got up and made for the mat in the corner, where she pulled Mahado's blanket up over his shoulders and brushed his hair out of his face before resuming her seat.

"He doesn't sleep enough anymore," she said. "I don't want to wake him. He was up with Madu until after moonset."

"I take it he's in the back."

Mana nodded. "Sometimes I wonder who the true fool is. He shouldn't be sleeping on the floor. I keep telling him."

Atem shrugged. "Good luck with that."

Mana's smile was sad. "I'm not the first one, am I?"

Atem shook his head. Yuugi watched the figure in the corner roll over. One hand slipped out from beneath the linen pad that served as a pillow; the other hand slipped beneath, a motion so smooth it might almost have been choreographed. Yuugi had the distinct impression that if he were to slide his own hand under the pad he'd find a knife hidden there. Mahado was too slightly built to be a proper soldier, but Yuugi had little doubt he was well-prepared for attack all the same.

Mana brought beer for Yuugi and Atem and sat talking with them quietly, waiting for Mahado to wake. Yuugi wanted to be irritated with Atem for getting him up needlessly, and found he couldn't be. Mahado, unlike most other people, worked the full ten days out of every week – he had a council position, of course, and when he wasn't in council he was either teaching or doctoring. It came as little surprise that his hours were as strange and irregular as Atem's. Suddenly Atem's joke about Mahado needing to eat and sleep just like everyone else made a good deal more sense.

Yuugi was almost done with his beer when, true to fashion, he managed to be the cause of an incredible upset without even trying. He reached a hand up to brush his hair out of his face, and when he put it down it landed on the edge of the Ring.

"Ouch!"

Yuugi snatched his hand away and pulled it to his mouth. An angry red weal had appeared on his palm.

_How can he wear it when it's so _hot?

**It's not to him. Only to you. It's how he protects it while he sleeps.**

Yuugi heard a murmur of voices and tipped his head up. Mahado had gone from seemingly sound asleep to wide awake in the same amount of time it had taken Yuugi to pull his hand from tabletop to mouth. Their eyes met, Mahado's scrutinising, Yuugi's guilty. He hadn't _meant_ to do anything to the Ring. Truth to tell, he'd rather have nothing to do with it at all. Yuugi dropped his eyes. Mahado ran a hand over his face.

"Mana, I told you – "

"You're going to get sick," she protested before he could finish. "I'm not going to be part of that."

Yuugi heard an irritated sigh and an amused snort. He didn't have to look up to know which noise belonged to each of the other men sitting in the room. He looked up in time to see Mahado disappear through the door in the back. Yuugi assumed he intended to either check on Madu, or put on something less revealing than a waist-wrap, or both. Yuugi was starting to think maybe Atem was the only non-servant in the palace who slept completely naked on a regular basis.

This train of thought was cut short when Mahado reappeared in what could only be work-clothes. He looked strange outside the formal robes Yuugi was used to seeing him in, but at least the majority of the scars were covered.

"Did you come early, or did I sleep late?"

"A combination of both, perhaps," Atem answered. "It's about the second hour now."

Mahado sat down at the table still rubbing his eyes into wakefulness. Yuugi wasn't surprised. 'The second hour' at this time of year was somewhere around nine in the morning, and moonset would have been somewhere around four. What Yuugi found surprising was how easily Mahado simply came awake after only a few short hours of sleep.

"I ought to have been up an hour ago," he said, the tone clearly scolding and directed at Mana. "I've told you before – "

"If you're sleeping so little someone else has to wake you, then you shouldn't be asking for less," Mana scolded him in turn. "Aren't you the one who's always telling me that?"

Mahado looked slightly taken aback. Yuugi concealed a grin. If nothing else, Mahado taught his students to be confident in their knowledge.

"I have things to do, Mana. And you have work of your own to be doing."

"But it's the _weekend!_" Mana said, her voice almost a wail. Mahado shrugged.

"In the first four years of my apprenticeship, I worked when my master asked it, and never mind if it was a weekend or a festival or the middle of the night. I don't ask nearly as much of you as he did of me."

Yuugi had to conceal another grin. This was shaping up to sound like some kind of ancient version of the when-I-was-your-age speech.

"Now. We've been busy this week with Madu, and you're falling behind in your transfigurations work. I don't think half a day of practice is too much to ask."

Mana sighed and pushed herself up from the table. Atem watched her go with one eyebrow raised.

"You have her doing transfigurations in her second year?"

Mahado motioned for Atem to keep it down. "She has no idea what kind of power she has. I'd rather she have a loose handle on all branches in case she needs them, rather than to leave her waiting and have her use something without having any idea whatsoever how to control it."

Atem nodded. "I suppose that makes sense."

Mahado slipped the cord of the Millennium Ring over his head absently. "Well, I suppose it's time for us to head back."

"Head back where?" Yuugi felt slightly put out. Had he been deprived of his lie-in so he could be pulled out here and then right back to the palace?

"To the – well, it's not a library, precisely," Mahado said. "The only texts I have for personal use are ones I've copied myself. But it's as good a word as any." He stood up. "Come with me."

He led the pair of them through an arch Yuugi hadn't noticed and into a hallway. Yuugi glanced into the first room they passed and saw a plain bedroom with a vanity stand that led Yuugi to believe the room was probably Mana's. On the other side was a second bedroom even plainer than the first. On the bed in this room Yuugi could see a man lying on his stomach with his face turned to the side and a blanket pulled to his waist. Madu. Beyond this was a room that looked like a pantry.

Then they heard the scream. Mahado's head jerked up, and then the three of them weren't in the hallway anymore. Yuugi staggered, suddenly dizzy, and Atem caught his waist.

"What's – oh, for the love of – Mana, it's just a – "

"It tried to _sting_ me!"

Yuugi looked in the direction Mana was pointing and saw a rather large scorpion sitting on a shelf, stinger curled over its back. Mahado reached out an impatient hand and scooped it up. Yuugi's eyes widened.

_How stupid can he be?_

Then Mahado turned his hand over, and what was sitting in his gently curled fingers was not an attacking scorpion but a purple and black butterfly that took flight and landed on the bridge of Yuugi's nose. Yuugi jumped even as his mouth fell open. The act itself was no surprise – Yuugi had little doubt Mahado knew tricks that would make Yuugi's eyes cross – but the casual way he'd done it left Yuugi reeling.

"Is this thing poisonous?"

"Only if you try to eat it," Mahado said. "Natural defense. Perfectly harmless otherwise."

Yuugi reached up a tentative finger to move the butterfly – the wings were obstructing his vision in a very big way – and it stepped neatly onto his hand. Had he not been looking at it, Yuugi would have sworn he was holding nothing at all.

"That's so _cool_."

The side of Mahado's mouth lifted in a smile. Then he turned back to Mana. "And this is why I keep telling you to practice." He motioned to Yuugi and Atem. "As we were, do you think?"

"Not if we have to do – whatever that was," Yuugi said. "I'm still dizzy."

Mahado's chuckle was apologetic. "Sorry about that. I would have warned you, but I didn't actually intend to carry you along with me. You get used to it after awhile."

Yuugi remained silent. The thought that came to him was from another book he'd read in the treehouse: in Mahado's world, running was something that happened to other people. Yuugi wondered how it was that he'd never noticed before.

**You did. When he saw you kissing in the hallway. He wears shoes, but he's got a limp. You should have heard him running – but you didn't, did you? And when Atem mentioned disappearing, Mahado was the first person who came to your mind.**

_. . . oh yeah._ Somehow Yuugi'd managed to forget about that. He felt a set of fingers twine around his own and looked down to see Atem holding his hand.

"If you've quite regained yourself, little Aibou – "

Yuugi grinned sheepishly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mana watching them with the kind of half-hidden interest Yuugi usually associated with anime fangirls. "Sorry."

"It's nothing, little Aibou," Atem said with a smile as he turned toward the door.

It was then that Yuugi saw the butterfly – so light he hadn't even noticed its departure – perched neatly on the outer edge of Atem's ear. Yuugi struggled to keep from laughing as he followed Atem and Mahado back down the hallway. Either Atem hadn't noticed the pretty little insect balanced just above his crown, or he was deliberately ignoring it.

It was Mahado, ironically enough, who broke Yuugi's willpower in regard to keeping a straight face. He stopped at a door at last – Yuugi had to wonder just how big this place was – and turned to open it.

"It might look a little different than the last time you were in here. I had to rearrange to get some more sp-"

Yuugi had little doubt Mahado meant to finish up "space," but he never got the chance. As soon as he gave Atem that casual sidelong glance, he stopped.

"Atem?" The voice was exceedingly careful.

"Mmm?"

". . . . are you aware that you have a butterfly on your ear?"

"Mmmm?" Atem reached up and pawed at his ear. The butterfly latched easily onto one of his fingers, and he held it up in front of his face. "Well, hello there."

It was then that Yuugi started laughing. Not only had Atem managed to unwittingly turn a live insect into a piece of jewelry . . . now he was talking to it. Mahado's eyes flickered over Atem's shoulder and caught Yuugi's. The corners of his eyes crinkled up and he started to laugh himself.

"Where can we let this poor thing go?"

"There's a window in the library. I uncovered it when I moved the shelves." Mahado swung open the door. "After you."

Yuugi followed Atem into Mahado's library. Now _this_ was the kind of thing he'd imagined: wooden cabinets full of Yuugi didn't even know what, several shelves stacked with scrolls, other shelves stacked with various kinds of stone and a couple of skulls (neither of them human, thankfully – that would have been just a little too weird for even Yuugi). The window Mahado had mentioned was lower than most, and it was to this window that Atem now went. He raised his finger to his lips and blew gently on the butterfly's wings. It took flight out the window. Yuugi watched it go.

Mahado, meanwhile, was paying absolutely no attention. Yuugi heard him sigh.

"I keep telling Mana not to put things away in here when I leave them out. She ought to know by now I do it on purpose. Well – " Yuugi turned around just in time to see Mahado climbing a ladder to a top shelf. "You may as well sit down. We could be here awhile. I had everything pulled out, but . . . "

Yuugi couldn't restrain himself any longer. "Can I ask you something?"

Mahado glanced in his direction. "Mmmm?"

"How did you do that?"

"Do which?" Mahado opened a scroll, examined it, and rolled back up.

"With the scorpion. The butterfly. Whichever. How'd you do it?"

"Transfigurational magic," Mahado answered absently as he tucked a scroll under his arm. "Turning one thing into something else."

"Yeah, but how did you _do_ it?"

Mahado glanced up. "It's pretty much impossible to explain to someone who hasn't studied it, Aibou. Allow it to satisfy you that I used transfigurational magic. Ah!" He grabbed another scroll off the shelf and tucked it under his arm with the first. "Yes."

"But what _is_ transfigurational magic? I mean, how does it work?"

Atem chuckled. Mahado never raised his eyes from the scroll in his hands, but when he began to speak, it was in the tones of a veteran lecturer.

"There are five main branches of magic. Figure magic is one of those branches, and it has three subclasses – figuration, which is to say taking nothing and making it into something, transfiguration, which is to say turning one thing into another, and antifiguration, which is to say taking something and turning it into nothing." Mahado began to descend his ladder. Yuugi glanced to his left and saw Atem grinning in recognition.

"The most difficult of these three branches is figuration. Transfiguration is the easiest of the three. The elements are already there – they only need to be rearranged. It takes surprisingly little effort on the part of the trained student of magic. You need little more than intent to perform it. Of course it does have its limitations," Mahado continued, as he set his scrolls up on the table and began scanning them for the information he needed. "It's impossible, for example, to turn sand into wine. And people have been trying to turn iron into silver for centuries with absolutely no success whatsoever. You can change it into copper, but not silver – and that falls outside the realm of figure magic and into alchemy, to be quite perfectly honest."

Yuugi, who had done the iron-filings-into-copper experiment in chemistry class, nodded.

"The general rule is that it's impossible to figure or transfigure food and drink – although occasionally it is possible to transfigure food or drink into another kind of food or drink – and something that's been ruined cannot be transfigured into a whole version of itself. It's also fairly impossible to transfigure a material into a more valuable material, although under some exceptional circumstances it can be done."

"So can you figure valuable stuff?" Whatever else Mahado might be, Yuugi was finding him to be a fantastic teacher. Yuugi'd never heard of figure magic before in his life, had no way to take notes, and still thought he might be able to explain to someone else exactly what Mahado had just told him. "I mean – can you just, I don't know, make gold?"

Mahado smiled. "Every student asks that sooner or later, and the answer isn't a particularly straightforward one. Stories are told, Aibou, of a man named Rahotep. Rahotep was a noble with designs on the throne, because he had a dark and greedy heart and wished to possess everything on which he could lay hands. And so he prayed every night to his namesake for a way to take the throne, and in so doing come to own all of Egypt. At last Ra had enough, and decided to teach Rahotep a lesson – so late one night he came to Rahotep in a dream and granted him the power to turn things to gold just by touching them with his bare hands."

Yuugi, who had heard the story of King Midas as a toddler, thought he could see where this was going, but nodded all the same.

"Rahotep presented himself to the pharaoh and court, saying 'look what great power Ra has granted to me!' And he turned the pharaoh's clothes to solid gold on the spot. The pharaoh was so impressed that he immediately named Rahotep as his heir, and upon the pharaoh's death, Rahotep was crowned. He fell in love and took to wife a beautiful noble's daughter named Nafrit, and then Ra's punishment came home – for the night of the wedding Rahotep took Nafrit to his chamber, and when he touched her bare skin, she became a gold statue right before his eyes. Rahotep realised too late the error of his wishes, and tore his clothes and beat his chest in mourning – but with nothing to stand between his skin and his hands, his heart also turned to gold, and stopped beating, and he died. When he appeared for judgment his heavy metal heart weighed more than the feather of Ma'at, and so his insatiable soul was devoured by Ammit."

Yuugi raised his eyebrows. That had been rather unexpected.

"And so while it may be _possible_ to create such things, Aibou, the moral as it was given to me is that to seek such ultimate power is to toy with the gods, and sacrifice your own soul."

Yuugi nodded. There was something strange about hearing magic talked about like a real science, and yet he supposed it made sense. It _was_ a real science, at least in this time and place. Mahado unrolled a scroll to a specific place and then stopped. He looked like he was trying to remember something important.

"Do either of you have any objection to having something to eat before we finish this up?"

Neither of them did.

* * *

Yuugi watched Mahado disappear to check on Madu. Atem chuckled.

"He can't ever resist the chance to instruct someone."

"I think I understand why he became a teacher," Yuugi answered. "He's good at it."

"Do you think?" Atem glanced in Yuugi's direction, and Yuugi could tell he genuinely meant the question.

"Well, yeah," Yuugi said. "He's really good at explaining stuff. And I don't think I've met any of his students yet who hate him. That's usually a good sign."

Atem started laughing, trying to keep his voice down at the same time. "It's true. He does tend to inspire a rather devoted following."

Mahado reappeared, holding his hands out in front of them. They were bright red. "Give me only a moment. I need to wash."

Yuugi watched him go, heard the splash of water in a basin outside the door, and then Mahado was coming back in the front door and drying his now-clean hands on the sides of his tunic.

"Well. I suppose that's well enough, then."

"Where did all the _blood_ come from?" Yuugi whispered. It didn't look well enough to him. It looked more like Mahado had been involved most recently in cutting someone's throat.

"It wasn't as bad as it looked, actually," Mahado said. "Apparently the poor fool's been trying to scratch the marks on his back because they itch as they heal, and he reopened some of his wounds. It's just a matter of keeping them wrapped well enough he can't get to them, now. The important thing is that they _are_ healing, and for the most part they're doing so cleanly. There's hope yet." He gestured to the pair of them. "Let's go finish. Before something else can come up."

Atem laughed. "Such is the truth you speak." He took Yuugi's hand.

There were no side-trips to engage in any twisted zoology this time, and as such Yuugi discovered Mahado's part of the complex wasn't really so big after all. The hallway made a single L-turn after five rooms – two bedrooms, one bathroom, the pantry, and Mahado's library – and on the arm of the L were three or four rooms Yuugi presumed to all be workrooms. The library was the last room on the back of the L.

Mahado continued his search for the last scroll he needed while Yuugi checked out the bits and bobs on the shelves – various kinds of rocks from all over the place, two birds' skulls, a small tray with a few scarabs in it -

"Is this a _seeing crystal_?" Yuugi picked up the chunk of white quartz, roughly the same size as his fists put together, as though it were a diamond of comparable size. Mahado glanced back over his shoulder.

"Mmm. It used to be, but – " Yuugi saw a flush rise in his face. "It was shattered during an attack on the palace. The piece you're holding is the largest of what remained. I've tried to repair it, but so far I haven't had any success."

"Wow." Yuugi turned the chunk of crystal this way and that, watching the light play off of it. He could see a fracture deep inside, reflecting even more light, and thought Mahado would be lucky indeed to make it work again. He set it carefully back on the shelf.

"Here it is. How did it get down here?" Mahado pulled a scroll from the bottom of a stack and caught the rest of them with his other arm before they could fall. "Really, I swear any man who can explain women to me can have my job."

He spread the scroll on the table and unrolled it. Yuugi heard him curse and peered over Mahado's shoulder.

Someone had spilled a bottle of ink on the words he'd so carefully copied out.

"Mana!"

Mana came hurrying into the room. In her hands was a bone that was trying very hard to look like a pestle. "Teacher?"

Mahado showed her the scroll. Mana's face went pale.

"Do you have any idea what this was, Mana?"

Mana's fingers traced the edge of the stain. "There's no other copy of this one."

"No. There isn't. Why didn't you tell me while the ink was fresh, when there might have been a chance of saving it?"

The eyes Mana turned on him were puzzled. "But I didn't do this, Teacher."

"Then who did?"

Mana shook her head and shrugged. "I only came in last night to put out your candle after you'd put everything away. I haven't worked in here in two weeks."

"You – " If ever there had been an appropriate place for the word "nonplussed," Yuugi thought, this was it. Mahado looked completely and totally thrown. At last he shook his head. "I'll have to see how I can go about replacing it. I know there's not another one in the palace." He sat back, dissatisfied. "And without it I can't finish." He turned his gaze on Atem. "Any ideas?"

Atem shrugged and shook his head. "Do you have to use a specific spell?"

"To get everything in that I wanted – " Mahado stopped. Then he turned and left the room. Yuugi watched him go, confused.

"What – "

Atem held up a hand to hush him.

Mahado reappeared shortly with something in his hand. "It's not as good as a specifically cast spell, but its magic is still strong, and if you take care to never take it off . . . " Mahado looked down at the thing in his hand and ran a thumb over it. "This was given to me by someone I respected very much. Take care of it." He tipped the item into Yuugi's hand, and Yuugi saw it for what it was: a round metal pendant hung on a leather cord and carved with the image of a goddess, holding something in her hands that looked like a round cartouche.

"It's called a schen ring," Mahado said. Yuugi knew that already, but didn't bother saying so. "Its primary purpose is to provide good health and protection, which is close enough to what I intended to do, I suppose."

Yuugi nodded and tied the rawhide cord around his neck. The pendant hung just below the hollow of his throat. Then he paused.

"But if it's – if it's supposed to protect you by wearing it, then don't you . . . ?"

Mahado's smile was sad. "I have a protection that goes far beyond a schen ring, Aibou. If I didn't – even given that I do – I'd gladly wear this my whole life through." He touched with one finger the pendant resting against Yuugi's collarbone. "But just now, I think perhaps you need it more."

Yuugi nodded. He wasn't entirely sure what he'd just been entrusted with, but Mahado's intention seemed clear – to provide whatever protection he could so Yuugi wouldn't end up unconscious and vomiting uncontrollably onto the floor of the banquet hall ever again.

Yuugi only wished he knew who'd spilled the ink.


	20. Blitzkrieg

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm back . . .

Well, let's see, what's new? First off, the big exciting news in my life: hello to my beautiful niece, Maya Yael Mossberg! Those of you who are reading this note on my LJ can scroll down a few posts and see a picture. (She's wearing her newborn cap in the one I posted; you should just _see_ the head of hair she's got under it.) After all this time, she's finally here. Yay!

Now that the most important thing in my life right now has been taken care of, let's deal with this chapter. You will notice that the mystery continues, even though I said it wouldn't. This is not because I lied; it's because as I posted Chapter 19, I was sitting there thinking "well, now what the fuck do I do?" because what my demented little mind wanted me to do is completely out of the question, and I'd come to a place where I had an evil blank stretch of time. While I was thinking this, Madu popped into my head and said "Hey! Nina! Now that I'm just kind of hanging here waiting for you to decide Mahado needs his bed back, GUESS WHAT I DIDN'T TELL YOU." I wanted to tell him to fuck off, but then I realised yeah, it does have to go there.

And finally. Your clue for the chapter. Based on the number of people who have now solved the mystery (including one who got _the whole thing,_ the YGO version of Miss Scarlett with the Lead Pipe in the Kitchen), I wasn't going to give one. Then I said "what the hell" and decided to take pity on all the people who are still convinced it's Bakura that people have been seeing in the desert: both sightings of the "apparition" in the desert are of Kisara. I think the confusion may stem from a change in her character design between manga and anime, so for anime-canon folk, let the record be set straight. Kisara has blue eyes and white hair, not that weird bluish colour she's got in the anime. Thief King Bakura does not appear anywhere in this story (I hereby apologise to all of you who were hoping to see my take on him). So no, he is not controlling Set/Mahado/Mana/Idut/Atem/insert character here. Everyone else's favourite thief has nothing to do with anything (and by "everyone else's" I mean that mine is named Locke, only he's a _treasure hunter_, not a thief, just ask him, he'll tell you).

One final note for Aida fans. Mahado's backstory is mostly not deliberate, but it's not a joke, either. He really is exactly who Atem says he is. Don't you feel loved?

So. That's all. Now enjoy.

-- Nina

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 20/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**, with a bit of onesided **loyalshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 12 973  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **violence**, **naked Yuugi**, **language**, and **sexual situations**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Mahado continues to be awesome. Yuugi gets hypnotised. Set gets married. Atem gets laid. Mahado gets into trouble. Lots of it.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Nobody's answered me yet. Does naked!Yuugi take a warning?  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in all relevant countries, **both Yuugi and Atem are now above the age of statutory consent.**  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **T.K. Yuy**, since I totally stayed up until 2 am to ensure you could read this before coming down this week. Just think, you'll have to steal my laptop to get hold of the half-written Chapter 21 before anybody else evil grin

* * *

Yuugi curled around his pillow. The schen ring tumbled over his collarbone. He was having a hard time sleeping, lost in thought. He half-wished he were in Atem's room, skin against bare skin, his head on Atem's chest, legs tangled amiably together for just that extra little bit of contact. Yuugi had grown incredibly fond of the touch of Atem's knee against his own when they cuddled together in the bed's soft centre.

At last he couldn't take it anymore, and so he got up and pulled on the robe he hadn't worn in months – not since before Atem's illness – before slipping on his sandals and heading for Atem's room. He pushed the door open. He was a little surprised by what he saw, but no longer troubled by it. The metal disc around his neck seemed to say he had no reason to be.

Atem and Mahado were sitting on the bed, talking _sotto voce_ about something Yuugi couldn't catch. Mahado looked up at the sound of the opening door. Atem followed his line of sight.

"Little Aibou? I thought you were sleeping."

"I was trying to," Yuugi admitted. "It wasn't going so well."

Atem patted the piece of bed next to him. "Join us."

Yuugi climbed onto the bed and curled up against Atem's side. Mahado smiled at him.

"It suits you."

Yuugi stared at him, confused. Mahado tapped his own breastbone. Yuugi's fingers rose and caught the leather cord around his neck.

"Oh. This. I kind of forgot it was there," he admitted. He'd spent so much time wearing things around his neck at home that after a very short time indeed, the weight of the amulet seemed to almost not be there.

"It's rather lighter than you'd expect, isn't it?"

Yuugi nodded, then blushed. "Um – I didn't mean to bother you. I mean – "

Atem raised a finger to Yuugi's lips. "You're no bother, little Aibou. It would have come up tomorrow in any case."

Yuugi wondered if he looked as puzzled as he felt. He supposed the answer must have been yes, because when Mahado spoke again, he began with a recap.

"There was rather a disturbance in the complex today after you left, Aibou. One that may yet lead us to the solution of all."

"Yeah? What was it?" Yuugi leaned forward, interested.

"Madu awoke fully coherent for the first time since coming under my care," Mahado said. "He claims to have no memory of anything that's happened in the past two weeks."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"That's exactly what I thought," Mahado said. "But when a man's first words to you are 'what am I doing here' when you're in your own rooms – "

"How many times have you heard those words used in that context, Mahado? Just out of curiosity." Atem stroked Yuugi's hair absently.

"Not as often as you have, I'm sure." He paused. "Although that's usually not the full question. The full version is 'what am I doing here, and why do I feel like I spent last night getting chewed on by a crocodile?'"

Atem started laughing and buried his face in Yuugi's shoulder. Yuugi, who had spent more than one lunch hour with Jounouchi and Honda trying to figure out the worst thing to hear from a one-night-stand, was equally overcome. Mahado looked perplexed.

"I didn't think it was _that_ funny."

If Mahado had been Jounouchi, Yuugi would have followed up by asking what happened when sex was actually involved. Mahado was not a seventeen-year-old with a juvenile sense of humour and the world's best fake ID, however, and so Yuugi held his tongue. Atem had no such reservations.

"Is this when you're acting in your medical capacity, or at – shall we say – more personal times?"

The dirty look Mahado gave Atem was worthy of Set at his finest. "If you think – "

Atem held up his hands in surrender before Mahado could continue. Yuugi had on more than one occasion observed that Atem could torment Mahado almost to death and get no argument, but this time Atem had hit a nerve.

"Peace. I intended no insult." He paused. "You were saying?"

Mahado settled back. He still looked mildly annoyed, but continued in his original vein. "I think it's safe to say Madu isn't acting. I haven't asked him much – he's still too weak – but from what I've been able to gather he has no recollection of his trial or his departure from the palace, and though he remembers receiving orders from Idut in regard to the high table, he remembers nothing after entering the banquet hall."

"Incredible." Atem sighed. "Another dead end, do you think?"

Mahado shook his head. "I think perhaps the memories of those incidents are buried, not missing altogether. With the proper persuasion, he may be able to tell us a great deal."

"You mean torture?" Yuugi blurted. Mahado stared at him, aghast.

"Would the men of your land stoop so low, Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head. "No way. I'm sorry. I was just afraid – "

"You'll hear no such suggestion coming from me," Mahado said, a slight chill in his words. "There are perfectly civilised methods one can use that may enable him to tell us everything we need to know without our causing him harm. I'm particularly interested to know why his memories end when he opened the door."

"Someone was controlling him. Is that what you're suggesting?"

Mahado hesitated, then threw caution to the wind and nodded. "Under other circumstances I'd say it was really quite convenient for him, but the way he reacted when I answered his question leads me to believe he's telling the truth. If he is – and so far I haven't seen reason to believe otherwise – then your answer seems to me the most obvious, yes."

"But who?"

Mahado shrugged. "If the other me had found a way to take the Ring, I'd call that the obvious solution. But since he didn't, I'm afraid I'm a bit short on ideas." Yuugi had to hide a snort at Mahado's use of the phrase 'other me,' but even so he didn't fail to observe the not entirely easy way that Mahado's fingers caressed the side of the Ring.

_He knows something's wrong with it, doesn't he? He just doesn't know what._

**Bet your ass.**

Mahado sighed. "Time will tell. There's not much we can do until he's well enough to be questioned again, and I think perhaps this time we'd do better to do it informally if we're to get real answers out of him."

"Do you think you will?" Yuugi shifted, curious. Mahado considered, then nodded.

"If what he's said this far is true, then it's in his best interest to help us, and he'll know it. I think he was chosen for the same reason as Irakli. He was good for – "

"Um – I don't know that word. I'm sorry." Yuugi could feel a blush spreading over his face. Mahado's brow furrowed in thought.

"Protection by misdirection," Mahado said at last. _Camouflage,_ Yuugi thought. "Irakli, the idiot, couldn't provide any useful information on the perpetrator. Madu's guilt – or at the very least, his willing participation – seemed clear because his attitudes in regard to the pair of you are well-known. And yet now I wonder. Certainly one doesn't necessitate the other, and yet it was easy to think so when he stood before the throne."

"Because it seemed like a clear motive?" Yuugi asked. Mahado nodded.

"Precisely. But in reality, I'm beginning to think it was just one more brick in the wall between us and the truth."

Yuugi bit his lip. Atem might get angry with him for asking, but he had to know.

"Can I – can I ask you something?"

Mahado made a gesture of assent. "Of course."

"Do you keep arsenic in your quarters? You do, don't you?"

Mahado looked slightly uncomfortable, but nodded. "There's a sample of it in one of the cupboards in the library. Mostly I keep it to get rid of the rats when they come around – it's rare, but it happens. It's easier than trying to snap their necks before they can bite."

"In the week before the festival," Yuugi said slowly, trying to think before getting things too badly mixed, "who was in your rooms?"

Mahado pondered the question. "I was, of course, and Mana. I think Set was out once or twice – he's positively paranoid about security when it comes to festivals – and both my servants were about at the time. You paid me a visit, didn't you?" Mahado addressed Atem over Yuugi's shoulder. Yuugi felt Atem nod in answer. "Isis and Shada both stopped by on their way through, and one of Karim's students came around looking for him. And Ankhnadin came to get something for his leg the day before," Mahado finished, almost as an afterthought. "The cold was bothering him."

Yuugi thought personally that the sunny Egyptian weather was hardly cold, but then, he hadn't grown up with it.

"Well, that was – not much help, actually," Yuugi admitted. Mahado chuckled and shrugged.

"Perhaps more than you'd think," Atem said. "If you're thinking what I think you are, we may be able to pare that list down a fair deal. There's no reason for Karim's student or any of the complex servants to have been in the palace after nightfall – indeed, you would have noticed one of your servants missing, wouldn't you?" Atem addressed the question to Mahado. Mahado nodded.

"Undoubtedly. And they've both been with me for years."

"Set said he found no trace on any of you when he questioned you," Atem said. "That leaves Mana."

"Also declared innocent before the council, and almost certainly incapable of impersonating me," Mahado answered, clearly frustrated. "The whole thing's an absolute mare's nest."

"We'll see what Madu has to say, when you think him fit to be questioned," Atem said. Mahado nodded.

"And on such a note, it's probably best I get back. Coerced or not, I can't say I feel comfortable leaving him alone with her for any longer than I have to."

Atem nodded his assent. "Let me know when you think we can talk to him."

"Of course."

The three of them said their goodnights. Yuugi watched Mahado head for the door. The edge of his robe disappeared as the door swung closed. Atem chuckled.

"He's taking the easy way out tonight."

Yuugi, deep in a brown study, jerked back to full awareness at once. "Huh?"

Atem chuckled a little more. "Nothing of consequence, little Aibou. It's only just that he usually walks, like everyone else."

Yuugi remembered the disappearing fold of cloth. "Oh." He paused. "Maybe he doesn't want to walk in the dark."

"Perhaps," Atem agreed. "Or perhaps he only wishes to be away quickly. He did express concern about leaving Madu to his own devices." He stroked Yuugi's hair. Yuugi scooted around so he could wrap his arms around Atem's middle.

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

"It might be for the better if you stay in your own quarter this evening," Atem said. "But I'd be glad of a game with you, if you're not ready to sleep."

Yuugi nodded. He was a little hurt – Atem had never before denied him the right to stay if he asked – but he was also sure there had to be some good reason for it. For all his eccentricity, Atem was not the kind to change his mind at a moment's notice.

Atem pulled out the senet board and a marker bag. Yuugi let out a sound of surprise when Atem spilled the Reversi pieces over the board. Atem glanced up at him.

"We have no proper board just now," he admitted. "But if we leave a one-square space on all sides, and use only the middle, it should do well enough."

Yuugi nodded.

* * *

Yuugi sat with his legs tucked neatly beneath him and watched the captain of the latest caravan hold his discussions with the council. Yuugi wished for something to keep himself occupied. This caravan was from Byblos, and the sight of the wood samples made something ache deep in Yuugi's heart. It was such a sample that Mahado had procured for him to build Atem's Reversi board. Now the board was in pieces, and Yuugi didn't even have anyone to feel lousy with because Mahado was taking care of Madu in the complex. Yuugi supposed it said something about his character that he could wish someone was sharing his misery, and also that he could grieve for a gameboard, but he'd put a lot of work into it. Losing it had been a great blow.

Yuugi shifted impatiently. With Madu's departure a small shuffling of duties had occurred; Iry had taken over both Yuugi's and Madu's tasks in the kitchen quarter, and the place Iry had first exchanged with Madu – that of Atem's personal servant – he'd exchanged with Yuugi. It put Yuugi in a better place for protection, Iry had said, and in any case it seemed rather ridiculous for him to go all the way to Atem's room every day to do the things Yuugi had usually already taken care of without even being asked.

Yuugi and Atem had both seen the vast amounts of common sense in this proposal, and Yuugi had little doubt Iry had been rewarded for his presence of mind. Had the circumstances been only slightly different, Yuugi would have been thrilled.

Under other circumstances, though, the arrangement would never have happened. Yuugi wouldn't have needed the protection that still made him edgy when it appeared out of nowhere. Like trying to figure out where exactly he was supposed to fit in the strange time-loop he'd created by reading the curse from Atem's tomb, the situation made his head ache. Yuugi forced his attention back to the caravan – squares of cedar and mahogany. He managed to hold on for perhaps five minutes, and then his thoughts returned to the gameboard.

Atem had taken the pieces of the board to several people in the hope that just maybe, perhaps, something could be done. The closest he'd gotten to a satisfactory answer was the one he received from Shada, who said he didn't think the board could be put back together – but another could certainly be procured as a replacement, if Atem wished it. Atem did not. Atem wanted the original back in one piece. Eventually the pieces had ended up in Mahado's possession, where they remained after he told Atem rather regretfully that joining magic had not worked; the two pieces of the split board remained as two pieces.

The bitter irony, Yuugi thought, was that if he'd only been in Domino he could have put the board back together in a matter of minutes. Jii-chan had kept some of his son's woodworking supplies in the basement at the game shop, and Yuugi was sure there were still joiners sitting amongst the varied kinds of tacks and screws. And then there was the simplest tool of all: the bottle of plain white school glue right in Yuugi's desk drawer. The idea of knowing all the tools he needed and actually possessing none of them made Yuugi feel a little like screaming.

The shuffle of bodies brought Yuugi back to the present, where Atem was rising from the throne. Yuugi bent forward over one leg in the bow Madu had taught him before everything had, in Jounouchi's colourful language, gone to hell. Yuugi counted ten before getting up and leaving. He'd be due in Atem's room in only a few minutes, ready to help him clean up for dinner. He took the trip at a run, and so nearly crashed into Atem's unmoving back at the top of the staircase.

"All right, I give up. How did you get here without my seeing you on the way?"

Yuugi edged out from behind Atem so he could see the person Atem was addressing. Mahado was sitting on Atem's dressing bench, a wrapped piece of cloth in his hands. Yuugi's stomach twisted. Mahado had finally gotten around to trying out whatever other things he had planned for the erstwhile gameboard. This was the return of the broken pieces. Yuugi was surprised to see Mahado smiling; he'd been easily as angered as Yuugi over the whole thing.

"I could tell you, but given your record in spatial magics, I sincerely doubt you'd understand a word I said." He held up the folded cloth. "This is yours." He paused. "Be careful with it."

Atem took the package and set it on the bed. Yuugi stayed by the door; he didn't want to see the pieces anymore. They made him feel a little sick inside.

Atem's pause was so long Yuugi wondered if maybe he'd frozen to the spot. And then –

"How did you do it?"

"Entirely by accident, to be honest. I'm not quite sure. I got up in the middle of the night yesterday with some idea I don't remember, and when I woke this morning it was sitting on my worktable as you see it. I only wish I'd taken notes while I was working. It could be useful to know in future."

"It looks flawless."

Yuugi hurried to Atem's side. If Mahado had succeeded in putting the Reversi board back together, Yuugi wanted to see.

Mahado had indeed managed to rejoin the pieces, although it was clear to Yuugi that contrary to what Mahado might say, not all the repairs were magical. The top had been resanded, and the grid repainted in green instead of black. Yuugi wouldn't complain. It was his gift, a little worse for the wear but still functional and ready to be used. He ran a hand over the top of the board.

_If any object was ever made with love inside it, it's this one._

"Do you know, Mahado, I'm beginning to think the gods must have taught you how to defy all the laws of nature."

Mahado started laughing. It was a sound so genuinely surprised and amused that Yuugi couldn't help but join in. Atem watched them both for just a few seconds as a grin slid over his own face, and then he began to chuckle.

There are some things that can never quite be determined – the moment the tide turns for better or worse in a battle, the time when casual glances across the classroom become more than just casual, the true beginning or end of any season, the start of a friendship.

And yet, forever afterward Yuugi would say that the moment he and Mahado became friends instead of rivals, even if only for a short time, was exactly then.

* * *

"Would I lie to you?"

Yuugi paused outside the banquet hall. Supper had long since been finished. Most of the council had hung around for a bowl of wine, but now they'd gone their separate ways to their quarters.

"I do recall you being the one who tried to compare a woman to a lotus flower when I was married."

"Metaphors don't count, Atem."

Yuugi listened to Atem laughing, then pushed the door open. He thought he understood why Iry had been so eager to trade places with him; Yuugi's new tasks were not unpleasant, but they did often involve collecting Atem from one place or another and dragging his focus to where it needed to be. For a slave more comfortable with routines, it had to be stressful at the very least.

Yuugi bowed and then stood patiently at the side of the table, waiting to be addressed. At last Atem turned his attention to Yuugi.

"Little Aibou. What time is it?"

"Late," Yuugi answered. It was true; most of the slave quarter was already in bed, and Atem hadn't even bathed yet. Atem grinned.

"I take it this is my summons to retire, then."

Yuugi shrugged. "I just needed to know if you were planning on going to the baths tonight. I've already done your room."

Atem chuckled and turned back to Mahado. "We did get rather caught up, didn't we?" He addressed himself to Yuugi again. "Just a moment."

Yuugi nodded and slipped out of the room. He expected to be excluded from the rest of the conversation, and he wasn't disappointed; Mahado lowered his voice significantly when he spoke next, and Atem – whether out of similar sentiments or respect for his old teacher Yuugi couldn't say – followed suit. Yuugi waited for them outside the door. Atem had been made once again conscious of the outside world, and before long Mahado was wishing the pair of them goodnight and heading off for the complex. Atem folded his arm with Yuugi's.

"I apologise, little Aibou. I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

"No big deal," Yuugi answered. He was getting used to retrieving Atem from various places at all odd hours of the day and night. "So where are we going?"

"I need to stop in my room, and then I think a trip to the baths is in order. I feel rather as though I'd been buried in a dune today."

"Sandstorms can do that," Yuugi answered. The skirling wind hadn't caused too much damage, but it had left things dusty and in need of cleanup, and Atem had been caught in the back courtyard when it began. Yuugi would have been glad of a wash himself, and Atem must have noticed; he was preparing to undress for the baths when he paused to address Yuugi's general state.

"I think I'll be quite all right if you care to go bathe, little Aibou. If I was buried in a dune today, it would appear you'd joined me."

Yuugi snorted laughter – he had no misconceptions about how he must look with the last of the sandy dust still clinging to almost every inch of his exposed skin – but at the same time felt a tiny stab of hurt. He'd bathed in this room before on several occasions, both with Atem and without him, and he was more than a little confused as to why Atem would find it necessary to send him away. Yuugi went without a word all the same; his place was to do as Atem asked, not to question his every decision. He bathed, irked at the cold water but delighted to be clean, and paused only long enough to do something with his overlong hair before heading back to take care of Atem. He collected Atem's personals and followed him back through the hallways.

It was as Yuugi was laying out the many things he'd taken from the baths that he couldn't help himself anymore.

"Atem?"

"Mmm?"

"Can I – can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Tonight," Yuugi said, and then stopped. He tried again. "Lately you've – I mean – well – I just – "

Atem put his hands on Yuugi's shoulders. "Take a breath and calm yourself, little Aibou."

Yuugi did.

"Now tell me what troubles you." He brushed the tumble of curls out of Yuugi's face and waited.

"When I asked the other night if I could stay here – you said no."

"I did," Atem agreed. Yuugi brushed a wayward strand of hair out of his face and felt himself blushing.

"And then tonight – you sent me away again. It's just – it kind of feels like you don't want me around. I mean, I'm not trying to be weird," he hastened to add. "I just . . . I don't understand."

Atem sighed. His eyes flickered over Yuugi's shoulder, as though it were too painful to look at him directly. "You're mistaken to assume I don't wish your presence, little Aibou. I only wish – "

Yuugi saw a flush rise in Atem's face and was shocked to realise he was blushing. "Hey, it's okay. You can tell me," he said. There were answers here, and Yuugi wanted them. Atem pulled his eyes back to meet Yuugi's.

"I've never been so close to another before," Atem answered at last. "I know myself too well to put myself in your company intimately just now without fearing for your honour and virtue."

Yuugi snorted laughter. "In case you haven't noticed, I started out being a sex slave. I don't think I have any virtue _left_."

Atem's eyes dropped. His face had progressed beyond pink and deep into red. "I remember, little Aibou. And every day I regret that I used such a reprehensible method to gain your attentions."

"Well, I don't," Yuugi said, and Atem's eyes jerked back up to his face, shocked. "I mean, okay, it wasn't the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, but I'm not sure I'd have ever even noticed I might care about you if you hadn't done it. I had the chance to see you like I never had before, and that makes a difference."

"Such may be true," Atem answered, and Yuugi was relieved to see his blush slowly fading, "but even so, it's a mistake I'd not care to make again." He raised his hand to Yuugi's face to push back his curls. Yuugi reached up to capture the hand and held it against his cheek.

"So this is it, then? We never go any farther than this?" Yuugi was a little surprised to find himself disappointed. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around the sheer magnitude of the idea of making love to Atem as a partner instead of a slave, but he certainly wasn't averse to the possibility.

"We may, someday, little Aibou. But should that time come, I'd rather it come properly. In the meantime, I find it better to simply avoid the temptation. It's not through lack of desire for you, but through the misuse of that desire, that I fear to find myself fallen again. You're no longer just a slave to me, and I'd be loath to treat you as such."

Yuugi nodded. He wasn't entirely sure he agreed, but he understood, and he would respect Atem's wishes. Atem smiled at him and stroked his cheek.

"You're beautiful, little Aibou."

Yuugi blushed and turned his eyes away. Atem complimented him all the time, but rarely in such a direct fashion, and Yuugi wasn't quite sure how to take it. Atem's hand slid from Yuugi's cheek to his neck and pulled him close. The kiss was long and lingering, though only a half a step beyond chaste. Yuugi sat down on the bed and wrapped his arms around Atem's middle. Atem said he knew himself too well to trust himself, but there was something Yuugi knew that he thought Atem wasn't quite conscious of – Atem's sense of honour. It was deeply ingrained, so much so that Atem often deferred to it without even being aware he was doing so. He would hold off simply because he felt it was the right thing to do.

The kiss ended at last, and Yuugi rested his head on Atem's shoulder. Atem stroked his hair absently. Yuugi sighed, content.

And decided that just for now, this was enough.

* * *

Yuugi tried to block out the quiet murmur of Mahado's voice before he, like Madu, could fall under its spell. He was starting to wonder if there was any bottom to Mahado's wacky store of oddball knowledge.

**He's got chemistry, he's got basic magics, he's got first aid, and he's got hypnosis, but I bet he doesn't know jack shit about making sushi.**

Yuugi hid a grin. He imagined part of him would always find New Yuugi annoying, but just now he welcomed the diversion. If he fell asleep, he'd be no use at all.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes."

Yuugi turned his eyes toward the figure on the bed. He knew a little about hypnotism - had seen it before on many occasions – but still found it more than a little creepy when apparently sleeping people began to talk in a manner that didn't sound asleep at all.

"I'd have you answer some questions."

"Yes."

"What is your name?"

"Madu, son of Ishaaq."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty years."

Mahado paused. Yuugi could see him trying to add backward in his head. Yuugi knew the look. After a short delay, Mahado nodded. "And do you know why you're here, Madu son of Ishaaq?"

"I was told that I ran from the palace after poisoning a slave boy."

"And do you remember it?"

There was a pause. Atem and Mahado exchanged a glance Yuugi was at a loss to interpret.

"Yes – but as one remembers a dream on waking."

Mahado began to ask a series of questions that made absolutely no sense – or at least didn't _seem_ to make sense, Yuugi corrected himself. Then he felt a pair of hands resting on his arms, just below his shoulders, and he could hear a note of amusement in Mahado's voice when he spoke.

"You should wake, Aibou."

Yuugi's eyes fluttered open. He could feel a blush spreading across his cheeks and nose. He'd been trying so hard to pay attention. He looked up into Mahado's face and was surprised to see amusement warring with concern.

"Have you done this before?"

Yuugi stopped to consider the question. He'd never _technically_ been hypnotised, but he wasn't sure if his earliest days with the Puzzle would count. At last he shrugged.

"Not this exactly. Something a little like it."

Mahado nodded and pulled Yuugi to his feet. Yuugi glanced around for Atem and was shocked to find him missing.

"Atem is waiting for us in the front," Mahado said, either picking up on Yuugi's thought or realising that he could be looking for only one thing. "We have things to discuss. Where did we lose you?"

Yuugi frowned. The world still seemed three shades fuzzier than it should have been. "I definitely remember you asking if Madu knew what he was doing in your quarters. And I _think_ you asked him something about Eshe, but I'm not sure." The blush reappeared. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to worry about," Mahado answered, and opened the door into the front room. "We can fill you in."

Yuugi was almost to the table when he stumbled on nothing at all and fell. Years of stupid accidents had given him almost lightning reflexes, and at any normal time he would have been able to catch himself long before he hit his knees. Instead, Yuugi was aware of tripping and then of Atem's hands somewhere just above his waist. Atem deposited him carefully in a chair.

"Are you quite all right, little Aibou?"

Yuugi nodded. He felt a little like he was moving underwater, and wondered just how deeply asleep it was possible to go when being contact-hypnotised. Mahado came into Yuugi's line of vision. He looked vaguely worried.

"I'd like to try something, if you'd allow me."

Yuugi nodded again. Mahado knelt in front of him and rested his hands on Yuugi's knees. "Close your eyes."

Yuugi thought of asking if Mahado wanted to pick a cross-examination out of Yuugi's subconscious, and then decided perhaps he should wait until his brain was working properly again. Instead he closed his eyes and waited. Later he would never be exactly sure what Mahado said to him, but when he was told to open his eyes he felt a great deal more awake than he had before. He swiped impatiently at his fringe.

"Are you quite wakened now?"

Yuugi nodded. The matter-of-fact way the question was asked helped keep him from being _too_ embarrassed. "Okay. So what happened in there?"

"While I was being rather more effective than I planned to be? Not a great deal," Mahado admitted. Yuugi turned his eyes on Atem.

"We got to the truly important questions and Madu began to fight," Atem elaborated. "It's as though someone's been to great pains to ensure he can say nothing."

"Somebody's trying to cover up?"

Mahado nodded. "I'm afraid so. I tried two different ways of picking it out, and then it just got too dangerous to continue. We want answers, if we can get them – not to drive him insane."

"We could try the Ring – " Atem began, and the look Mahado sent him was so horrified he stopped at once.

"Never think it. You'd be building a pyramid to bury a fly. I'm not entirely sure just how powerful the Ring is when it comes to things like this, but I chose to not wear it today for a reason, Atem." Yuugi watched a faint flush spread over Mahado's face. "When I first began to learn this, it was described to me as something akin to lovemaking – if you work slowly and cooperatively you'll get what you want, but if you try to force your way in, you're only going to cause damage."

Atem snorted and covered his face with his hands while his shoulders shook with laughter. At last he recovered himself. "Sometimes I seriously question your tutor's analogical skills, Mahado."

Mahado shrugged. The flush was more pronounced than ever, although it still barely showed against the dark caramel of his skin. Yuugi envied him a little. "It made perfect sense in context. In any case, I think we're more likely to get the results we're after if we let him rest for a day or two and then try again." He sighed. "I only wish I could remember why it seems so familiar."

"Why what seems familiar?" Yuugi leaned forward, elbows on the table. Mahado shook his head.

"Perhaps it's nothing. It's only just that when I asked him what he remembered about entering the hall, he said he saw a light – a very specific kind of light. He described it as something like sunlight, only brighter. If I could only remember where I'd seen such a thing, I'm almost positive I could have someone pinned down by this time tomorrow."

Yuugi shrugged. He, too, was at a loss. The discussion continued, but it was clear they'd already said all they needed to say. After a very short while indeed the conversation petered out into small talk, shared over a bowl of beer, and then Atem got up to head back to the palace interior. Mahado laid a hand on Yuugi's shoulder as he saw them out.

"Take it easy today," he said. Yuugi nodded. He didn't _feel_ abnormal anymore, but there was something extremely trippy about discovering someone could put him to sleep just by talking. If Atem had no further plans for the day, Yuugi would be happy to comply with Mahado's order.

As it turned out Yuugi would end up complying almost not at all, but given the circumstances, he was perfectly all right with that.

* * *

Yuugi sat on the bed and watched Atem trade his casual dress for throne-room formal. There was no real need for him to sit today, but he'd expressed a desire to go all the same. Atem cast a glance in Yuugi's direction.

"I think I'd feel easier in my mind if you stay and rest, little Aibou."

"I'll be fine," Yuugi protested. "I feel okay now."

"Still, it might be best if I excuse you for the day. Mahado was quite concerned about you, and given that he's studied such for years, I think it wisest to defer to his judgment on the matter."

Yuugi nodded reluctantly. Sometimes he absolutely hated not being able to tell Atem where to get off. Atem stood up, made his way to the bed, and caressed Yuugi's cheek while he slipped his feet back into his sandals.

"If you care to stay up here, little Aibou, I won't deny you."

Yuugi cuddled against Atem's side. He still felt guilty for being told to ignore his responsibilities, but given how much he'd missed curling up in Atem's covers, he wasn't going to complain. Atem chuckled and ran his fingers once through Yuugi's hair.

"I need to go." He kissed Yuugi's mouth softly. "Rest."

Yuugi nodded. He waited until the door had closed before pulling off his wrap and sandals and sliding between the covers. Yuugi curled around Atem's pillow and rubbed his cheek against the sun-bleached linen.

If Mahado had come into the room perhaps ten minutes later, he would have been not at all surprised to see Yuugi cuddled in the midst of the blankets and pillows, fast asleep.

Yuugi's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the door. Atem was slipping off his sandals. The light outside was dusky, past sunset but not yet quite night. Atem sat on the edge of the bed.

"I thought you needed no rest," he said, his voice amused. Yuugi sat up. The blankets fell to his waist.

"I didn't think I did. Was I sleeping?" Yuugi felt a blush spreading across his face. Atem chuckled.

"You were, little Aibou." Atem leaned closer so he could whisper in Yuugi's ear. "To be perfectly honest, I was considering leaving you here and taking over your room for the night. You're really too tempting when you sleep."

Yuugi rubbed a hand across his eyes. "I don't feel very tempting. Just hot."

Atem chuckled again. "If you'd care to dress, it's not yet too late to eat."

Yuugi considered. He felt strangely boneless, as though he'd just got out of a hot bath. The prospect of going anywhere was distinctly unappealing, and he said so.

"Then perhaps you'd care to have this." And Atem produced a pomegranate. Yuugi stared at it.

"Where'd you get that?" Pomegranates were well out of season. Atem grinned.

"Mahado has rather a habit of transfiguring things while he's working, the way some women sew whenever their hands would be otherwise idle. I'd returned to talk to him again, and he was playing with a carob when I came in."

"Okay, so how did you end up with a pomegranate?"

Atem chuckled. "He put it in my hand when he left the library to retrieve something, and since he never asked for me to return it, I took the liberty of bringing it back with me."

Yuugi eyed the pomegranate, then reached out and took half of it. "This was a carob?"

"Actually it was a plum before it became a pomegranate, but as far as I'm aware it began as a carob, yes."

"I thought he said you can't transfigure food."

"The way I've always understood it is that one kind of food can be turned into another kind of food, provided certain criteria are met. Apparently in this case they were."

Yuugi picked out a seed and stared at it. "Is it safe?"

"To eat? Perfectly. I sincerely doubt Mahado would give me anything that only appears edible."

Yuugi bit into the seed. It burst on his tongue in a gush of delicious flavour. He raised no further questions on its edibility. Eventually he became aware that Atem was watching him, and popped a seed between Atem's lips before Atem could protest. Atem looked startled, but ate the seed.

"At some point, little Aibou, you're going to want something more filling than that."

Yuugi shrugged. "S'okay." He bit into two seeds at once. "Can I ask you something?"

"By all means."

"When you said if we ever did anything more than kissing. You said you wanted to do it properly."

Atem looked mildly uncomfortable. "I did."

"So I was just wondering – what exactly does that mean?" Yuugi watched Atem out of the corner of his eye and was somehow not at all surprised when Atem shrugged.

"I don't want to allow my desires to simply take over – without our mutual and rational consent." Atem frowned. "I'm not entirely sure how to explain."

Yuugi didn't think he had to explain. Atem didn't want to be what Anzu would have called "a victim of hormones." The only problem was that Atem didn't know about hormones. Yuugi wrapped his arms around Atem's middle.

"I just kind of figured maybe I better ask, since I'm kind of naked in your bed and all. Now seemed like a good time to know."

Atem started laughing and rested his head against Yuugi's bare shoulder. Yuugi, not immune to laughter at the best of times, also began to laugh. Atem wound down and silenced Yuugi's giggles with a kiss. Yuugi locked his hands behind Atem's neck and reveled in the taste of wine and pomegranates. He pressed forward, eager to continue, and Atem pulled away.

_You know something? I think I'm kind of tired of being a good little boy._

Atem hit first Yuugi's chest and then the bed with an expression so shocked Yuugi wished – not for the first time – for a camera. He rested his knee against Atem's stomach – not digging in by any means, but with enough of his weight against it to show he meant business – and pinned Atem's hands neatly above his head.

"What on _earth_ do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sick of this," Yuugi answered. "I mean, call me whatever you want, I think I should have a say, too. There's two of us in this relationship."

"Little Aibou – "

"Don't give me 'little Aibou.' If you want to wait, fine. I can wait. I may not be _happy_ about waiting, but I'll wait. But don't expect me to just say nothing every time you make a decision that affects us both. You said the other day you don't want to treat me like a slave anymore. I appreciate that. But if you really mean it, then let me actually _do_ something for us instead of just treating me like – I don't know – some kind of cute pet that can't take care of itself."

"If such is how you feel, little Aibou, why did you say nothing before?" Atem squirmed. Yuugi could tell he wasn't entirely pleased to be pinned to his own bed by his wrists.

_Deal with it._

"Because then I thought it was something else. I know a lot of people who say they want to wait until they're married, or until they reach some other big landmark, to have sex. But this – you keep telling me where to go and what to do, and I understand I'm still your slave too, but this is getting ridiculous." Yuugi considered. "And don't give me any of that 'correct time' stuff."

"You don't understand, little Aibou. I – "

"What's to not understand? I love you. And you love me, right?"

"More than life."

Yuugi didn't pause before continuing, but even so stored Atem's words in his mind to replay later endlessly at his leisure. "I'm not running away with anyone else any time soon. Are you?"

"Never."

"Then what are we waiting for? Christmas?"

Atem's brow furrowed. Yuugi mentally replayed his last words. Right. That.

"Never mind. The point is – if you'd asked me two years ago if I'd ever say this I would have said you were out of your mind, but I _want_ you. I'm ready when you are. I don't need flowers and pretty music and whatever. I just want _you_."

Atem's mouth quirked. "Let me up."

Yuugi didn't move. There was a long pause.

" . . . please?"

Yuugi rocked back on his heels. Atem pulled himself back into a sitting position.

"This is the kind of situation I was afraid of, little Aibou."

Yuugi shook his head and reached for Atem's hand. "I don't think you understand. I'm not saying we should – I don't know – go at it like cats in heat." He paused to wait out Atem's laughter. "I'm just saying – if it's plans you want, let's make them now. If it's someplace special you want to take me, let's go. If it's something you need me to say, tell me. I kind of feel like we're wasting time."

There was a long pause, and then Atem reached out – tentatively indeed – to pull Yuugi close. "Perhaps we should start over." He kissed the side of Yuugi's neck softly. "I think we've developed a miscommunication somewhere."

Yuugi twisted to wrap his arms around Atem's waist. "Okay, so what kind of miscommunication do you think we have?"

"You put it rather precisely already, little Aibou. I'm failing in my duty to you, and – "

"_Enough_," Yuugi interrupted. "You don't have any duty to me." He paused long enough to blow his hair out of his face. "You know what we have? We have a problem because we're from two completely different places, and that means we're thinking about this two completely different ways. It's kind of amazing we're even sitting here, really."

Atem reached for Yuugi's hand. "Then what do you think we should do about this problem?"

Yuugi squeezed his hand. "I can tell you, but it's not going to sound very pretty." He saw Atem steeling himself for a blow and hurried to explain. "Not that way. It's just the best phrase I've ever heard for it is kind of – well, it's nothing you'd ever say in the throne room."

"Tell me, all the same – would you?"

"What we need to do," Yuugi said, "is get rid of what one of my friends would call the irrelevant bullshit, and decide what _we_ want instead of what society _thinks_ we should want."

"That sounds reasonable enough – privately."

"Do you think I'm going to suggest we go have sex in the Nile in broad daylight?"

Atem started laughing. "I sincerely hope not."

"Well, good. Because I wasn't going to." Yuugi paused to gather his thoughts. "What I'd like is to be able to hold you, and touch you, and stay with you, without worrying about what's right or noble or whatever, just because it's what we want and there's nothing wrong with it if we're not hurting anybody. And I know we can't be equals because you're kind of, I don't know – "

"Believed to be a living god?"

"Yeah, that. But at least when it's just us – I'd like to be able to talk to you like we're just a couple of people, if that's okay."

"I have no objection as long as you're not ambushing me again."

"I think you deserved to be ambushed, actually. I love you, but you can be awfully stubborn sometimes."

Atem chuckled. "You're not the first to tell me so, little Aibou." He paused. "I won't pretend to know what I'm doing, although it's incredibly tempting to do so. I've spent my life discussing everything until there's nothing left to discuss before coming to any kind of solution, and there are so many points I could raise – but I think you'd decide I was rather stalling for time. The most important of those isn't something this is the right time for, anyway."

Yuugi opened his mouth to protest. Atem pressed a finger against Yuugi's lips.

"I have no intention of waiting until some perfect moment to address it, little Aibou. It's only just that there's something specific I'm waiting for, and it hasn't come yet."

"So when's it going to?"

"Soon, I'm sure. When it happens I can promise you'll be the first to know."

"Is it something good?"

"I like to think so, yes."

Yuugi gave Atem the kind of grin nobody would have been able to resist. "So have we reached a reasonable agreement?"

Atem groaned comically at the sound of his own throne-room phrases being parroted back to him. "You're absolutely incorrigible, little Aibou."

Yuugi pushed Atem's shoulders. They landed back on the bed, and Yuugi grinned wider. "You know what? I think I'm okay with that."

* * *

"I'm perfectly capable of marrying us. I'm a member of the court."

"I'm perfectly capable of annulling the marriage, because I also am a member of the court, Mahado."

Mahado snapped his fingers. "I knew there was a loophole somewhere in this plan."

Yuugi watched as Atem stopped halfway into the room to blink at them. "Who's getting married?"

Mahado raised his hand. "I'm marrying Set to stage a takeover of Nubia."

Atem shook his head, obviously trying to clear it. "What?"

Mahado waited until Atem had seated himself before continuing. "I'm going to claim the throne at Nubia, and marry Set to make it a sovereign state of Egypt."

"Why are we planning a takeover of Nubia?"

"Because we were growing restless waiting for you, and it seemed the best course of action to waste time," Set answered. Yuugi turned his snort into a cough. "Although it wouldn't work anyway. I'm not part of the Egyptian royal line."

"That could be a problem," Mahado admitted. "But we'll find a way around it. Given the slight physical resemblance, perhaps we can convince them you're the pharaoh's long-lost cousin."

_Oh, if you only knew._

Atem started laughing. Then he yawned. "In other news, you're all a great deal more awake than I am, so what's going on?"

Yuugi was fairly certain he heard Set mutter something about Atem letting slaves keep him up until all odd hours of the night, but ignored it in favour of finding a more comfortable position to sit in. Last night did have its downsides.

"Not much, Great Pharaoh," Siamun answered. "We've had no unusual news this morning – hence the takeover," he continued, shooting disgruntled glances in Set and Mahado's general direction. "I suppose everyone needs their fun."

"I've got it worked out," Set said. "We can marry you off to Atem as . . . would you be his chief wife, do you suppose?"

Atem started laughing. Yuugi hoped, for Mahado's sake, that the flush in his face was misinterpreted as irritation.

"I haven't the slightest idea. And I rather think, given current circumstances, such wouldn't be the best of ideas to begin with."

_Given that I'm a jealous little bastard, you mean,_ Yuugi thought, not entirely without amusement. He was having difficulty sitting in one spot, but for the rest he felt a good deal better than he had the morning before. He wondered how much of that was a result of his accidental hypnotism, and how much was because of . . . well. Yuugi hid a smile. The world seemed a great deal brighter with someone to love in every possible way, even if he was a bit fatigued. At least he'd had a good afternoon nap behind him; Atem looked just about ready to fall over.

He wasn't in the least surprised when Atem headed for his room instead of out for a walk after eating at midday. Yuugi followed him so quietly that Atem didn't even notice him until Yuugi was on the stairs. Then he turned around.

"Back for more already?"

"You know something? That would sound like a fantastic idea if you didn't look like you needed the sleep more."

Atem's chuckle was tired, but genuine. "True enough." He slipped the God Pyramid from around his neck. "I thought I might rest for an hour or so."

"Want me to stay here?"

Atem paused. Yuugi recognised his silence as deliberation and waited without prompting. At last Atem spoke.

"If you plan to try distracting me, little Aibou, then perhaps such wouldn't be the best idea. But otherwise – "

Yuugi put on an irritated pout. Atem was so much fun to tease. "Are you saying you think I'd actually do something like that?"

"You did last night."

Yuugi shrugged. "You need to sleep. I'm your lover, not – " Yuugi paused. He had no idea if there was a word for 'nymphomaniac' in any form of Egyptian. "I'm not _totally_ sex-obsessed," he finished. Atem's mouth quirked. Yuugi reached for his shoulderpiece. "Let's get you out of this."

It occurred to Yuugi as he was removing Atem's earrings that somehow his roles had meshed; servant and lover, partner and slave. Had he and Atem been completely equal in rank he still would have considered it a privilege to undress Atem and prepare him to rest. The hand Atem laid on top of his as Yuugi unclasped an armband only confirmed his realisation.

Yuugi led Atem to the bed and pulled the light coverlet up over his legs before laying down and snuggling into Atem's arms. Atem sighed, the sound long and content, and stroked Yuugi's hair. Yuugi cuddled closer.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"When Mahado and Set were doing their fake invasion today – "

"The official story, little Aibou, is that his father was the king of Nubia, if that's what you're going to ask. He confessed to me once that he has no idea if it's actually the truth – he knows only that his mother was an Egyptian noble who was captured and became a slave in the Nubian royal house. He ran away when he was fifteen because there was trouble over a girl – the vizier's daughter, if I recall correctly, although I could be wrong. It's not precisely a secret, but he doesn't talk about it much."

"Wait. Mahado got in trouble over a _girl_?"

"Mmm-mmm. It does seem a bit hard to credit, but it's true. He told my father it was an issue over the throne, hoping it might gain him a bit of favour here if he were believed to be the victim of a wrongful seizure of the bloodline. Instead it nearly got him killed, and if Baruti hadn't spoken up for him, he wouldn't be here now."

"Who?"

"My father's – what Mahado is to my court, Baruti was to my father's. He took Mahado on as a servant, and Mahado ended up being one of his brightest students. I think, little Aibou, that few today know the truth – that he was born in another country, even."

"Wow." Yuugi lay for several moments in respectful silence. Then he hitched himself up on his elbows. "So does everybody in your court have some story like that? I know Set does."

"Not all of them," Atem said. "But most do, yes. It's a regular court of misfits, little Aibou – and I chose it to be so for a reason."

"Why?"

"Because I recognise well that I was raised in circumstances far beyond normal, and as such my perceptions of the needs of my people may not always be accurate. I chose a council I believed would make up for those shortcomings. A more representative group, you might say." Atem's fingers tangled in Yuugi's hair. Yuugi nuzzled against his hand.

"Sounds smart."

Atem let out another tired chuckle, and Yuugi suddenly became aware that he was wasting Atem's naptime. He reached down and pulled the blanket up to just under Atem's arms.

"Shut me up when I start doing that, would you?"

"Mmmm."

"Yeah, go ahead and don't answer me," Yuugi said playfully. "You're just – "

Atem sighed again, this time from deep in his chest, and Yuugi realised he might as well be talking to air.

And so he simply pulled the coverlet up over Atem's shoulders, and curled closer into his arms, and joined him in sleep.

* * *

Yuugi lay with his head against Atem's chest, stroking his hair. There had been no lovemaking tonight – Yuugi had ended up confessing he didn't think he could take it – but Atem had offered no objections to a rather heated kissing session that had ended with both of them naked and curled up in the middle of the bed like cats. Atem's arms wound around Yuugi's waist.

"Do you know, little Aibou, I absolutely despise being talked into things against my will."

Yuugi squirmed uncomfortably. He didn't _think_ Atem was angry with him for what Yuugi had done the night before, but he could have been hiding his ire until the pair of them were in private and both rested. Atem rested a hand against the small of Yuugi's back.

"In fact, it's fair to say there are only three people I know who can get away with coercing me, and two of them are my trusted advisors."

Yuugi said nothing. He was still too unsure of where Atem's comments might be headed.

"So how is it, little Aibou, that you made your way into their company? Why is it that I find myself unable to refuse your requests? What's this spell you've cast on me, and to what purpose?"

Yuugi curled a little closer. "I haven't been casting any spells on anybody. Maybe you just know common sense when you hear it?"

Atem snorted. "Indeed." He stroked Yuugi's hair, got to the end of the thick tangle, and began to administer the same attentions to Yuugi's back. Yuugi squirmed.

"I didn't mean to harm you last night, little Aibou. You should have stopped me."

"I don't think there's much we can do about it," Yuugi admitted. "Not if we want to – you know." He hoisted himself up on one elbow to kiss Atem's mouth. "Anyway, it was worth it."

"Do you feel so?"

"Absolutely." Yuugi stroked Atem's hair out of his face. "I mean, it's not something I think we should make a habit out of, because then you're probably going to have to get somebody to carry me around and I'll be totally useless, but I can't say I'd complain if you wanted to do it again."

Atem chuckled. "Are you attempting to apply logic to our recent activities, little Aibou?"

Yuugi snorted. "'Recent activities.' That's a nice way to put it."

"Well, what else would you call it?"

Yuugi hitched himself up again so he could tuck his head beneath Atem's. "We made love. There's a name for it, you know."

"Would you call it so, little Aibou?"

"Yeah."

Atem sighed, long and satisfied, and pulled Yuugi closer to his side. "I must admit I rather like the sound of that."

Yuugi smiled and draped his free arm across Atem's chest and shoulders.

Things were definitely looking up.

* * *

"Good morning!"

Atem raised his eyebrows as he returned Mahado's greeting with a nod. "You're rather chirpy today."

"He did get married yesterday," Isis said, her face trying to stay straight and mostly succeeding. "Perhaps congratulations are in order."

Set gave her the kind of look that scorched. "There were no official documents. I refuse to believe there's anything legally binding about a poor joke."

Atem began laughing. At last he wound down to chuckles. "Well, then, Mahado, out with it. Don't keep us guessing."

"I questioned Madu again last evening, and I think we might finally be getting somewhere. Also, he was up and about this morning – not fully recovered, but he may return to useful service yet."

"Excellent news," Atem agreed. Yuugi grinned. Mahado's news would surely put Atem in a good mood, and Yuugi liked him that way. Not only was he more agreeable in general, it was easier to guess where he was going when he was feeling amiable. Retrieving a brooding Atem from one of the palace's many hidden nooks and lookalike rooms was anything but easy.

The throne room was a lively place that morning, Atem hearing common petitions from as far away as the Delta and then playing Siamun at a spirited game of senet. Eventually Atem expressed a desire to eat and rest – the days when he heard common petitions were interesting, but both long and tiring – and the council broke for Atem's midday recess. Set fell into step with Atem just outside the hall, Yuugi trotting behind and wishing that the ten centimetres or so he'd gained since coming to Egypt had done something to add some extra length to his legs.

"It's been a time since we've talked."

"You've been busy, and so have I. How are the lessons with Idut coming?"

Set lowered his voice. "I don't think I could credit her mind if I weren't seeing it for myself. She would have made a fantastic 'prentice for anyone."

"And may yet become one," Atem answered. "It seems to me Shada's had his eye on her."

Set snorted. "What Shada has his eye on isn't her mind, and I've half a thought to tell her so. I wouldn't mind seeing her study under Mahado or Karim, but – " he shrugged. "She's got quite the penchant for history."

"Has she?"

"Incredibly so. I decided to try her on some of the old legends instead of a text for once, and you'd be amazed how quickly she advanced."

"I think perhaps sometime soon I may listen to her read. I'd like to see how she's coming along."

"Better in histories than figures, but she puts her heart into it all the same, even when it's difficult."

"And how are the figures coming?"

"Not so terribly." Set cast a glance at Atem out of the corner of his eye. "Better than yours."

Atem started laughing. Yuugi raised a hand to hide his own giggles. Set raised his eyebrows.

"Is it so amusing to you?"

"Quite." Atem paused. "So when are you going to start?"

"Mmm?"

"I heard you talking to Siamun before I left the room. He wants me married off to Idut, now, is it?"

"He's just got his heart set on childminding another chubby toddler. Don't pay him any mind. If he won't talk to you directly, I'm certainly not going to do his work for him."

Atem snorted. "With all the trouble I gave him, you'd think he'd have learned."

"He does have a way of forgetting how he had to chase you down on every possible occasion, doesn't he?" Set paused. "Perhaps he ought to have taken Mahado's advice on how to stop you."

"Mmm?"

"It seems to me you stopped running off to the Nile after the time Mahado tracked you down and made off with your clothes."

"You try walking home naked through the marketplace before sundown, Set. It's not exactly pleasant. On the whole, I think I'd have rather taken the strapping."

"You learned, didn't you?"

"Mmm."

Yuugi couldn't hide his giggles anymore. "He took your _clothes_?"

Atem shrugged and nodded. "Siamun believes in taking the rod to the legs of any pupil who runs off to go swimming instead of completing their lessons. Mahado just sneaks up, takes your clothes, and leaves you to walk home that way." He paused. "And if you're quite lucky, he'll let you have them back without too much fuss. Mana said she had to finish the lesson she left first."

Yuugi snorted. So did Set.

"Perhaps it wouldn't be such a good idea to leave Idut under his tutelage."

"He did it to Shada, too," Atem said. "I think it's a second-offence punishment. If you don't learn the first time – "

"It only gets worse," Set finished with him. Atem nodded.

"There are rumours Karim does the same thing to those he catches."

"It wouldn't surprise me in the least. Are you going to eat, or are you going in the other direction?"

"I thought I might stop for something. Rumour has it there's some early onions for the bread."

Yuugi wrinkled his nose. Atem had entirely too much of a fondness for bread flavoured with onions, in Yuugi's opinion, but Yuugi went ahead obediently to fetch lunch. He was getting better at learning how to tell idle chatter from veiled orders, and he was already planning out a light meal – rice and wine with bread and some of the smoked meat Shemei had laid aside the night before – when they all heard the scream. It began with terror and then cycled up through mild hysteria and into grief. Yuugi stopped where he stood.

"That's Mana."

Set pushed past him and broke first into a trot, and then into a run. Atem followed. He'd gone perhaps two paces beyond where Yuugi still stood, frozen to the spot, when he turned around.

"Go to your room, Aibou. Now."

It was the first time Atem had ever addressed Yuugi with neither title nor endearment attached, and it was enough to jolt Yuugi out of his paralysis. He did as Atem ordered, stopping neither to ask questions nor answer them, and waited, sitting tensely on his tick, for news.

When it came, it came as a shock; Yuugi had taken for granted that if he were only careful, he could keep from changing history too much. He'd hated having to do it – occasionally cried because there was nothing he could do to protect the man he loved without destroying all of existence – but he'd never turned aside from the goal of ensuring he left Atem's world essentially as he'd found it. Now it had changed drastically, and quite possibly beyond all repair.

The voices in the hall – Set's and Atem's – were Yuugi's sign that it was probably okay to open his door. What he hadn't expected was to see Mahado in Set's arms, the top of his robes stained a bright red, his body twisted in a way not at all promising. There were stains on Atem's clothes, as well, but these, at least, were clearly from contact with Mahado's blood-streaked arms. Between the pair of them the men managed to get Mahado into the room directly across from Yuugi's. Yuugi followed them.

" – want any of the slaves here until he's regained his senses. I've no idea what he might say."

"There's something you're hiding. What is it?"

"It's his tale to tell, Set, not mine." Atem caught sight of Yuugi standing in the doorway. "Aibou. Can you fetch water?"

Yuugi nodded and hurried off to do it. He was momentarily torn between heading for the slave quarter and the other option immediately available to him. At last he took the second option and headed for Atem's room, where he took the always-full pitcher from Atem's dressing table. Atem could scold him later if he wanted. Yuugi was more concerned with the urgent expression of need for water. He returned only a little less quickly than he'd gone, concerned now about spilling even a single drop.

Atem had taken the liberty of taking Yuugi's knife from his basket, and between Set and Atem they'd managed to tear open the top of Mahado's tunic. Yuugi winced at the deep and ugly wound beneath. If Mahado had only been wearing his formal clothes, he might have been protected by the shoulderpiece – but this was a work tunic, plain and unadorned, and the instrument that had stabbed him had gone easily through the thin fabric. Set took the pitcher from Yuugi's hands. Atem raised Mahado's shoulders from the mat beneath them, and Set slid a basin beneath before pouring the water over the wound. Blood washed away in uneven threads.

"We need something to bandage this with."

Yuugi left again, navigating the corridors at something very near a dead run, and so nearly crashed right into Shemei as he turned left and came into the slave quarter.

"You! What are you – "

"We need bandages," Yuugi said, cutting her off. "Set said so."

Shemei turned and jerked her head. Yuugi followed her, knowing the brisk walk she maintained was about as good as he was going to get and wishing she'd go a little faster. At last they reached one of the workrooms, where Shemei found a few rolls of unbleached linen and handed them to Yuugi. Yuugi thanked her and sped off again. He had the feeling he was going to end up being the only slave involved during the most critical part of Mahado's care, and he had absolutely no intention of letting the magician die if he could help it.

Yuugi's feeling ended up being exactly right; he didn't see a single other soul in the two hours that Set and Atem laboured over Mahado's injuries, and by then Set knew everything he needed to know about why Atem didn't want the slaves around. Yuugi spent those hours being the go-between for the little room and the outside world. During a relative lull – which was to say he wasn't expected to be needed for two or three minutes – Yuugi went into his own room and retrieved a blanket from his bed. Atem had taken it and tucked it around Mahado's waist and legs as though he hadn't even been aware it was Yuugi who handed it to him. At last they'd managed to stop the bleeding – Yuugi praying all the time that it wasn't Mahado's heart that was hit, please oh please oh please – and bandaged his shoulder carefully. Yuugi had already anticipated the next problem and was waiting with a fresh sleeping mat to replace the bloody one the three of them were sitting on. Set lifted Mahado so Yuugi and Atem could make the switch.

"Should I get him anything? I mean – does he need a drink, or a pillow, or something?"

Atem shrugged and glanced at Set. Set considered, then shook his head.

"If he were lying on his back I'd say we'd need to raise his shoulder, but leaving him on his side should have the same effect. And giving drink to a stabbed man is always a bad idea. When he regains consciousness, perhaps, but not now." Set reached for one of the linen cloths he'd used to clean blood from his hands, located a relatively clean patch, and wiped sweat from his forehead. Atem sat back.

"I wonder how Mana's doing. She was absolutely in hysterics."

"I trust Idut to take care of her," Set answered. "She'll be fine, as long as someone takes care of the body first."

"The body?" Yuugi leaned forward. Set and Atem exchanged a glance.

"Madu's body. It was a bit difficult to see what happened, exactly, given that Mahado'd moved and we were more concerned with getting him out than determining exactly what happened then and there, but it looked to me like Madu stabbed him and then cut his own throat."

Yuugi's eyes widened in horror as he remembered Mahado's words that morning. _I think we're finally getting somewhere . . . he may return to useful service yet._ How thrilled he'd been! How sure they'd get to the bottom of it all!

_Somebody wants to keep their secret safe._ Yuugi's stomach felt sick. If only Mahado hadn't questioned him again! If only there had never been a poisoning at all! Yuugi jumped up to block the doorway as he saw movement in the passage, and then Mana – looking pale but more composed than she'd sounded only a few hours earlier – was standing in front of him, a small stack of things in her hands.

"Is he – how is he?"

Yuugi shrugged. He heard the men behind him moving.

"Let her in, Aibou."

Yuugi moved to let Mana past him, and then closed the door completely. Mana was sitting between Set and Atem, leaning against Atem's shoulder and with his arm around her shoulders. She put down her burden and reached for Mahado's hand.

"Is he . . . ?"

"It's not as bad as I first thought, actually," Set told her. The tone in his voice was one Yuugi had only heard once before – when Set blessed Merishu as he lay unmoving and unbreathing in Shemei's arms. "The knife missed everything vital by hair's widths."

Yuugi saw Mana's shoulders hitch. Then he heard her crying. Atem pulled her into the kind of hug Yuugi thought an older brother might give to a sibling who fell on the playground.

"There was nothing you could have done," he told her. Mana buried her face against his shoulder. Yuugi shuffled half a step backward, feeling incredibly awkward. He was the only person in the room who had never fallen under Mahado's tutelage, and he could feel the difference. To the people in front of him the magician was an advisor, a teacher, a doctor, a friend, and occasionally a source of extreme irritation. To Yuugi he was a court member and one of Atem's close companions, nothing more.

"I was mad with him this morning because he got me up early after I had to stay up late last night," Mana sniffled, and Set laid a hand on her shoulder. "I shouldn't have – "

"You had no way of knowing then what you do now, and I sincerely doubt Mahado would be pleased with you for sitting here beating yourself up when you couldn't possibly have anticipated this. I won't pretend to agree with him on most matters, but I can't say I'd feel any differently, were our positions reversed."

Mana took a deep and ragged breath and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "You're right. I just – " she broke off, frustrated, and shook her head. "If anything happens to him – "

"He's strong in body and stubborn of mind, and such a man doesn't die easily. I hardly think you need worry about him just yet."

Mana nodded. Then she picked up a small clay box from the little pile of things she'd brought with her. "I can – I can leave this with you for him, can't I?"

Set took the box from her and opened it. "Where did you get this?"

"I went back out to the complex about an hour ago."

Atem's face was dismayed. "Mana, you shouldn't have done that."

"But he'll need it," she protested. "When he wakes. And I didn't go into the back. Only his room. I wasn't going to, but I thought – I just – " She blushed and looked away, and Yuugi recognised the fabric next to her as a neatly folded waist-wrap and tunic. She'd known they'd have to cut him out of his clothes.

Set shook his head. "Willow's not going to touch this," he said, resting one finger gently against the top of Mahado's shoulder. "It's too deep."

Yuugi tried to imagine being stabbed in the shoulder and having only aspirin for pain, and winced. Set let out a sigh.

"I can try to cast, later, when I'm sure I'm not going to cause backflow," he said. "But not before. Normally I don't think it would matter, but just now it might drain him, and then we'd really have a problem."

Mana nodded. Atem squeezed her shoulder. Yuugi slipped out and made for the kitchens. He sincerely doubted any of them would want anything to eat, but there could be no harm in offering them something to drink. He sought out Shemei for advice, and so ended up taking neither wine nor beer but a tray with milk and plain bread. Then he retreated to his own room across the hall; more than ever he felt like an interloper, and if one of them needed him he was literally only a few steps away. He pulled out his set of pick-up sticks and played against himself aimlessly, watching the shadows in his room change, until Atem appeared in his doorway. Yuugi looked up, feeling incredibly guilty.

"May I sit?"

Yuugi nodded and gestured to the bed even as he scooped up the sticks and put them away. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have – I just – "

"You needed a distraction, little Aibou. I understand. This isn't your grief, and being caught up in it can hardly be pleasant."

Yuugi wrapped his arms around Atem's shoulders and rested a hand on Atem's head when it settled in the space between Yuugi's shoulder and neck.

"Do they know yet why - ?"

Atem shook his head. "I could take a fair guess. I'll desist from hunting out the man out of concern for the safety of all others involved, but I tell you, little Aibou, that should chance ever place him in my path – " Atem broke off. There was really no need to continue.

Yuugi ran his fingers through Atem's hair. "How's Mana?"

"As well as can be expected. If she doesn't go back to the kitchens soon, I'm going to send her. She was the one who found them, and I daresay she'll have nightmares enough for a year and a day. She doesn't need to be in the face of it any longer."

Yuugi nodded, trying not to disturb Atem's rest. Atem reached up and rested his hand on Yuugi's other shoulder. At last he sighed and pulled away.

"I should go back."

"Do you want me come with you?"

Atem considered. "Yes."

Yuugi got to his feet and reached for Atem's hand. Their fingers twined together, and Yuugi squeezed gently. Atem squeezed back.

Mana looked up at them both mournfully as they slid back into the room. "He's still not awake."

"No, and may not be so until morning. You should take your rest, Mana."

Mana looked ready to argue. Atem laid a hand on his shoulder. "Should there be a change, I'll be sure you know."

Mana bit her lip. Then she leaned forward to give Mahado an awkward embrace that ended with a kiss against the corner of his mouth. Yuugi heard her quiet farewell and felt like crying; the name she applied to him was neither his own nor the honorary "Teacher" but a word he recognised as something like an Egyptian version of "Daddy." He wondered if Mahado knew Mana called him that.

**Of course he does. He overlooks it because he knows she needs him to, and she never uses it to his face because she doesn't know he'd let her do it in a heartbeat as long as she didn't think she'd get off easy on lessons.**

Atem asked Yuugi to walk Mana back to the kitchens, and so he did, feeling incredibly glad she didn't want to talk. He had absolutely no idea what to say.

Set was already gone when Yuugi returned. Atem looked up at him.

"I foresee a long night ahead of me, little Aibou."

"Want company?"

Atem hesitated, then nodded. "If you wouldn't mind."

Yuugi sat down and wrapped his arms around Atem's shoulders, and settled in.


	21. Ring of Truth

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello, folks. Let's see. What's the big news this chapter? I got to meet one of you lot in person! **T.K. Yuy** came down for the weekend, and there was much joy, and oral-writing of crackfic, and buying of manga. It was loads of amazingness. I keep meaning to type it up on my LJ and forgetting, so we'll see if I ever get to that. I'm a horrible blogger and I know it.

Now. In the past couple of chapters, I've noticed this massive crop of new readers that just crawled out of the woodwork from absolutely nowhere. It's kind of cool, and kind of weird at the same time – seriously, guys, where'd you all come from all at once that way? Anyway, hi. Just wanted to let you all know that I know you're here. You've joined us somewhere near the end of the ride – I can now say with certainty that even if the story _does_ explode in my face again (hello, Ophir subplot!), we are now much closer to the end than to the beginning – but that's perfectly all right.

Re: mystery. You've got all your clues – given the amount of people who've already solved it, if you haven't got it yet, you probably need to do some rereading. In the meantime: one of you still has an unclaimed prompt. I don't remember your name or where you were reading – this was a chapter or two ago and a lot has happened in the interim – but I know you're out there. If neither _One Eight Hundred_ or _All My Scattered Pieces_ look like anything you requested, and you know you got the answer (I know I told you that you got it), please drop me a line with the prompt you'd like me to write. You earned it – don't leave your prize unclaimed!

And finally. Last few chapters, I've had a lot of readers picking out small errors. Sometimes this is a good thing (cough chapter ten cough), but guys. Come on. Yuugi's intended to be depicted as human. He makes mistakes. There is a reason I have him occasionally screwing up. It's because he's got a human brain, and just like any other human brain, it misfires sometimes. Before you send me nasty emails/reviews about errors, please take into consideration that you may be looking at characterisation, not something that needs to be corrected. And if you think you did catch me with my fly down – it happens, I admit it – please let me know kindly. There's no need to be condescending or call me names. Also, in the same vein, and directed at a single person (you know who you are): Mahado's comment about Set being Atem's cousin was a _joke_. I know he wouldn't know Set and Atem really are related. Did you not catch Yuugi's "if you only knew" immediately following? Thanks for the lulz.

Now. Onward.

-- Nina

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 21/??  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**, with a bit of onesided **loyalshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 12 516  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **violence**, **naked Atem**, **language**, and **sexual situations**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Mahado is delirious. Yuugi does not think. Atem gets laid.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Eh. Blood? Sex?  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in all relevant countries, **both Yuugi and Atem are now above the age of statutory consent.**  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **sofiadragon,** because _All My Scattered Pieces_ was such fun to write.

* * *

Yuugi was up in an instant, knife in hand, when he heard the door open. He took a step backward and let his grip relax as Isis appeared in the doorway.

"How is he?"

Yuugi motioned her in and gestured to Atem. His own limited knowledge would hardly be sufficient. Isis stood, waited until Atem acknowledged her, repeated her question. Atem shrugged.

"He's not woken yet. Set came back earlier to cast on him for pain. It may keep him asleep."

Isis sat down next to the mat and brushed Mahado's hair out of his face. "He's quite lucky."

"The gods smile on those who pursue truth."

Isis nodded and reached for Mahado's hand. His fingers lay in hers, limp and unmoving.

"What did he cast?"

Atem shook his head. "I don't know the name of it. I was only told that when he wakes he may seem drugged. It's quite strong."

Isis nodded again. "For his sake and yours, I hope all's well."

"As well as it can be, according to Set. Everything's whole but the flesh, and the heart wasn't pierced. If it weren't for the danger involved in casting on a man so weak, Mana could probably heal the wound completely provided she had someone to guide her magic."

"Mmm." Isis laid her other hand on top of the first, capturing Mahado's fingers between. "Perhaps in a few days, do you think?"

Atem nodded. "I hope so. This has gone far enough."

Isis sighed. "I hate to leave the problem half-solved."

"And I, also, but I think to continue on would be madness. People are dying, Isis."

"I know that. If it weren't the case I'd urge you on with my whole heart, but Mahado . . . "

"Have you been able to track the man?"

Isis shook her head. "The Necklace won't show me. I've not the slightest idea, except I rather fancy he's somewhat tall. And that's hardly enough to go on."

Atem nodded. "Shall I have word passed to you when he wakes?"

"Set sent me to take your place, actually. He said you should sleep if you don't want to be next." She shook her head. "As a rule I disagree with trying to turn fate aside, but in this case how I wish I'd seen wrong – that he'd been able to dissuade you from all."

"So do I." The tone in Atem's voice was bitter. Yuugi hugged him. Atem held Yuugi's head to his shoulder, seeking whatever comfort he could find. Isis turned her eyes back to the mat.

"You should sleep. You'll make yourself ill."

Yuugi could feel Atem's indecision. Part of him recognised the truth inherent in Isis' words – but another part of him wanted to stay with the man he regarded as both a counselor and a friend. And so Yuugi took Atem's hands and pulled him gently to his feet, leaving no room for argument. Atem let go of Yuugi's hands and got back to one knee. Yuugi reached out to protest, but Isis held him back. Atem whispered something Yuugi couldn't catch and held Mahado's free hand to his face. Then he stood up, took Yuugi's hand, and allowed Yuugi to lead him to his room.

Yuugi was slightly wrong-footed when he realised Atem's pitcher of water was gone; so much had happened in the last twelve hours or so he'd completely forgotten taking it. Then the memory came to him, and he padded off to retrieve fresh. He returned just in time to see Atem pulling off his bloodstained tunic. Yuugi dipped a cloth and began to wash the blood from Atem's arms and shoulders. Neither of them spoke. Yuugi straightened Atem's things quietly and led him to the bed in silence. Atem patted the other side of the bed, and Yuugi nodded. He washed the blood from his own arms and slid beneath the covers. Atem's arms wound around his waist, and Yuugi offered no objection to being pulled close and cuddled.

"I love you, little Aibou. I don't think I say that often enough, nor near as directly as I should."

Yuugi stroked Atem's hair. "Don't worry about it."

"I do worry about it. I intend for you to know I care for you, and today is just one more reminder that should I depart this life without warning, I'd not want you to ever doubt my feelings for you."

"Well, I love you too."

Atem pulled Yuugi closer and placed a kiss on his forehead. Yuugi cuddled against Atem's chest.

The pair of them fell asleep on a single pillow, together and yet separated in deep thoughts.

* * *

"How long have you been here?"

Mana jerked awake at the sound of Atem's voice. The expression on her face was guilty.

"I came to find out what was going on. Nobody wants to tell me anything."

"Mana . . . "

"I'm not _stupid_," Mana spat. "He's hurt, and he might be dying. I know that." She brushed Mahado's hair out of his face. "I just don't want him to be alone if that has to happen."

Atem sat down and put a hand on her back. Mana took one of Mahado's hands in both of hers and held it. Yuugi went for milk. When he returned, it was to see an upset Mana trying to talk to a Mahado who appeared awake but neither answered her nor made any sign that he heard.

"It's the spell Set cast," Atem murmured. "He'll be unaware of his surroundings for a time, Mana."

"He shouldn't be this way. It's not right." Mana brushed tears off her face impatiently. Atem pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's never right when an innocent is wounded trying to complete their duty. Give him a week and he'll be up and about like nothing ever happened. You know that."

Mana sniffled. Yuugi wished he knew her better; he would have been more than happy to turn it into a group hug if he'd known whether or not she'd accept a hug from a slave. Atem rubbed her back until she quieted and then pulled away.

"You're going to make me leave now, aren't you?"

"I would, but I think it quite likely you'd just find a way to slip past everyone and get back here anyway. I have duties to complete today, but if you're quiet and don't disturb him – "

"I won't."

"Then stay and watch over him."

Mana hugged Atem again and then let him go. Yuugi followed him out quietly.

"Where are you going today?"

"The throne room. For trials." Yuugi had never heard Atem sound so grim, and pitied the people who'd landed on trial. Yuugi had no doubt there would be little mercy today.

Yuugi had been in the throne room before when people were missing from council; during the preparation for attacks by the Ophirites only Shada and Karim had remained by Atem's side the entire time. Then it hadn't bothered him. Now one was missing from their midst not by choice but because of a violent and unseen hand that had struck through an innocent man, and the impact could be clearly felt. It was as though there was a Mahado-shaped hole in the throne room that nobody else could fill. After several tense minutes, during which Atem arranged himself and prepared to push his grief to the back of his mind for a time, Ankhnadin spoke.

"How is he?"

"Still unconscious when I left him." Atem's voice was terse, almost harsh. Ankhnadin offered a single curt nod and fell back.

Atem did not mete out haphazard punishments as Yuugi had feared he might; he still listened to all the evidence in each case before making his decision, and three of the five defendants he spoke to were given clemency for crimes that were relatively minor. The only one sentenced to be sealed was a man who had been brought all the way from the Delta for slipping into a house while the family was at a funeral and making off with the wife's jewels, killing a servant in the process. Atem pronounced this a crime on par with tomb robbing and turned a deaf ear to the man's pleas for a second chance. Just this once Yuugi couldn't find it in his heart to disagree, and he became aware for the first time that he also was affected by that Mahado-shaped void. This should have been the part where Mahado would have cross-examined the man for motive; today that duty fell to Shada, and he was making rather a bad job of it. Yuugi missed Mahado's orderly series of questions and unshakably calm demeanour, and the glances Isis and Karim were exchanging with Siamun and each other told him he wasn't the only one.

At last the final case came up, and Atem encountered a difficulty Yuugi had either never seen or never noticed before: the man spoke no Egyptian. Shada attempted to address the man in four different languages Yuugi didn't know, and then shook his head. Atem considered silently for perhaps a minute before addressing the man in front of him again.

"Do you speak Nubian?"

At the word "Nubian" the man's face lit up, and he began to speak rapidly in a language Yuugi didn't know. Atem held up a hand, and the man fell silent.

"Nubian." Atem sighed and rubbed at his cheek. "Then we'll have to wait." He turned an eye on the remainder of the council. "Unless one of you has linguistic talents I'm completely unaware of. You only speak with the traders, Shada, do you not?"

Shada nodded. Isis shrugged with one shoulder. "I know a little Nubian, Great Pharaoh, but probably not enough to conduct an interrogation in."

"Could you tell this man we're waiting to hear his case until we have an adequate interpreter?"

Isis considered, and then addressed the man in front of the throne. Yuugi heard in her voice the same kind of hesitation he'd heard in more than a few English classes back home. She knew she had the words right; it was just getting them in the right order that worried her. She must have done tolerably well, though, because though the man looked more than a little crestfallen and nodded in understanding. More than ever Yuugi felt the gap where someone should have been and wasn't, and he hated it. He was more than a little relieved when Atem left the throne at last and the council broke.

Lunch was a subdued affair, Atem taking rice with lentils and a bit of bread and nothing more. Yuugi hoped he wasn't going to go on another let's-not-eat jag, as he had when Merishu was buried; Atem had never actually starved himself, but he'd turned away most of his food only half-eaten. He was too small already to do it again, and Yuugi hoped he realised it.

At last they headed back to Mahado's sickroom, where they found Mana still stroking his hair and sitting as quietly as it was possible to sit. She turned her eyes on them, and Yuugi wanted to cry from the sadness he could see there. Atem sat down next to her and took Mahado's hand out of hers, threading his own comparatively light fingers through the dark ones.

"Should I get anything?" Yuugi spoke just above a whisper. Atem shook his head.

"Later, perhaps." He turned his eyes on Yuugi for only a moment. "You may go." And he turned his eyes back. Yuugi padded across the hall to his room obediently and sat.

And waited.

* * *

"You're going to make yourself ill."

"I'm not leaving him."

Yuugi woke early to the sound of fierce whispers in the hallway. He didn't bother hurrying to stick his head out the door; Set and Atem could go on for hours, and Yuugi thought he'd have more than enough time to dress and wake up properly before going to see what this argument was all about. He was right; the pair of them were still standing in the hallway when Yuugi slipped out of his room, although the quarrel seemed to be coming to an end.

"When you end up ill, don't come running to me." And Set whirled around and took off.

"Wow."

Atem sighed. "Indeed." He reached for Yuugi's hand. "Have you eaten, little Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head. "I just got up. But that's okay. I'm not really hungry anyway."

Atem nodded, his eyes fixed on the door in front of him. "I'd like you to stay with me today."

Yuugi nodded.

"Mahado's awake – if one can call it such – and today's likely to be difficult. He doesn't seem to realise where he is or what's happened, and he's – " there was a slight waver in Atem's voice, and he began the phrase again – "he's been speaking as though he thinks me still a child. I'd despair of him altogether if he hadn't laughed at me and told me to wake him up."

"He thinks he's _dreaming_?"

Atem nodded. "I must ask you to humour him, little Aibou. He's still very deeply under the influence of Set's casting, and only the gods know what he may get up to next."

"So if he lays a big one on you, should I just ignore it?"

Atem's brow furrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

Yuugi considered what he'd said. "Um. Sorry. If he just hauls off and kisses you."

Atem chuckled, but there was no joy in that, either. "I sincerely doubt he'd be so forward even in his dreams, little Aibou, and by extension in the waking world when he believes himself to be dreaming." He grew even more sober than had been his habit in the past two days. Yuugi almost expected to see grey hair beginning at his temples. "But in the unlikely event that such _should_ happen, I should think ignoring it would be your best course of action, yes. He may not even be aware who I am." Atem's voice wavered noticeably. "He keeps calling Set 'Father.'"

"Do you – do you know if there's any resemblance between them? I mean, maybe he just caught him in the shadow and – "

Atem was shaking his head. "I know not who it is he refers to, but if it's the Nubian king, there's not a hair's likeness. Even if it were another, I find it highly unlikely he'd mistake an Egyptian for a Nubian. Most Nubian men are quite dark."

Yuugi remembered having his tonsils out when he was eight, and the incredibly painful infection that had followed. Most of the week following the operation was gone from his memory because of fever and painkillers, and what little he could remember was strange, to say the least. He wondered if the spell Set had cast was something like a magical version of morphine – incredible for taking care of pain, but with the drawback of being more than a little hallucinogenic. It would explain a lot. Atem squeezed Yuugi's hand and pushed open the door.

Yuugi was no doctor, but even so he could see a great deal was wrong. Mahado's eyelids fluttered like a man in a deep dream from which he'd gladly awake, and he was murmuring quietly but steadily. Yuugi's eyes fixed on the Millennium Ring, still hung around Mahado's neck, even as Atem sat down on the mat and pulled Mahado into his arms to ease the trembling in Mahado's own arm.

"Why's he still wearing that thing?"

"Nobody can ascertain how to take it off, given the protections Mahado's put on it. It's impossible to touch it, and even if we could, there's no way to cast the safeguards normally employed when it's not about his neck."

Yuugi rolled his eyes. He knew better than to believe the Ring was completely untouchable – had seen Bakura wear it, had heard Honda's story about throwing it away, had on a few occasions handled it himself. "Oh, come on." He reached for the cord around Mahado's neck and slipped it off before Atem could protest. "If you're worried about protecting it, all you have to do is – "

The second half of Yuugi's thought should have come out as _all you have to do is give it to someone you trust until he wakes up – I'll take it to them for you, if you want_ as he slipped the cord over his head for safekeeping, but the moment the Ring landed against his chest he wasn't in Mahado's room. Instead he was on all fours in a room he recognised, except that the slaves remained with their foreheads bowed to the floor, and most of the people around the throne – along with the man sitting on it – were unfamiliar to him. Someone grabbed his chin, and he was looking up at a man with a severe black beard and a face so long it seemed almost deformed.

"I'll see if I can't find a use for him. There's no point in wasting the time to kill him when he looks half-dead already."

Even when Yuugi had finally shot up about ten centimetres following Atem's departure for the afterlife, he'd been too petite to be called gawky. Now he felt exactly that as he was yanked up onto a pair of feet that were too big to be his, supporting a pair of awkward, gangly legs that felt roughly two miles long. He threw out his one free arm for balance and nearly smacked the guard on his right entirely by mistake as the hand at the end traveled farther than he'd expected. Was this how tall people felt all the time? The arm was yanked behind his back.

"Enough. I'll take care of him."

_No!_ Something in the front of a mind that was not Yuugi's was screaming to be let go, that it couldn't happen _again_, once was enough, thank you –

Yuugi rolled over with one hand against his stinging and still-red cheek. Atem, hand still extended, was staring at him with eyes so large they reminded Yuugi of nothing so much as a pair of Simon platforms. Yuugi took a deep breath that sounded too high-pitched for his own comfort. Atem dropped his hand from its place in the air and seized Yuugi's in his own.

"Little Aibou – are you all right?"

Yuugi put his hands on the floor in front of himself to steady himself in a room still rocking around him. "I – I don't know." Atem reached out to cover the hand that had been pulled from his grasp.

"You closed your eyes, and then you started screaming."

Yuugi could feel himself shaking. "I think – I think I was in his _head_. I think I was seeing his memories – from when he came here. Can this thing do that?" Yuugi grabbed the Ring with both hands and held it out in front of himself almost as far as the cord would allow, not just asking for an answer but demanding it. "Can it?"

Atem sighed, shrugged, shook his head. Yuugi saw burn marks on his palms and felt a stab of guilt as he realised Atem had tried to yank the Ring from around his neck when he blacked out.

"I don't know, little Aibou. Much about the Items is still a mystery to us."

"Yeah, well, somebody else can have this mystery," Yuugi said, letting the Ring drop back against his chest. "Do you want me take it to Set to hold onto? Until Mahado, you know, wakes up?"

Atem shook his head. "I've not the slightest idea how you took it from him without consequence when he's protected it so, little Aibou, but you put it on."

"So?"

"You've accepted guardianship of it until such time as its rightful owner can bear it again. Nobody can wear it but you. This much I do know."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Yuugi could feel horror spreading over his face. "I mean, I took the Millennium Rod, too, and – "

"And it was nowhere on Set's person at the time. Guardianship is a state that must be rendered willingly from owner to guardian, or at least, so we believe, from the few times it's happened since the Items were forged."

"Fine. I'll willingly give it to Set, or Siamun, or somebody, and they can – what?" Atem was shaking his head.

"You cannot pass on the guardianship of an Item that isn't yours."

"This is _ridiculous._" Yuugi looked down at the hateful piece of gold that had caused so much damage already and wished with everything in him that he could tear it to pieces with his bare hands. "I mean, what now? I just walk up to the council and say 'oh, by the way, I ended up with this thing and have no idea how I did it, so would you mind telling me how to use it so I don't end up accidentally zapping people?' I don't think that's going to go over very well."

"The Items can only be used for sealing by a forceful concentration wedding both will and magic, so I sincerely doubt you have much to fear, little Aibou. As for the rest . . . " Atem brushed Mahado's hair off his cheek. He'd gone limp in Atem's arms, truly resting at last. "I'll see to it." His eyes flickered up to Yuugi's face. "You do have a way of attracting all kinds of trouble, don't you?"

Yuugi dropped his own eyes and blushed. "I'm sorry. If I knew it was going to do that – "

"You knew it was the thing disturbing his rest. How?"

Yuugi considered his answer carefully. He believed the true answer to be the same as the answer to Atem's question of how Yuugi could take the Ring – he'd once carried a Millennium Item of his own, and either Mahado or the presence in the Ring had somehow recognised both his power and his intentions in taking the Ring from Mahado's possession. The answer he finally gave Atem was much different, but by no means entirely a lie.

"Well – I know at home I could never sleep if I didn't finish my homework first. And I just kind of figured – I mean, that's his real job, isn't it? Protecting this thing? So he had to stay alert enough to do that. If somebody else is doing it, he can rest."

Atem considered this possibility. "I suppose such is a fair enough conjecture." He reached out and tapped the eye in the middle of the Ring. Yuugi did not fail to notice that only the curve of Atem's fingernail touched the gold. "We'll have to cover this. It's going to cause all kinds of problems if you're walking around with it in the open." He sighed. "And I hope you'll understand if I tell you I'd rather you're not left alone for the present."

"I do." And Yuugi did. Atem might love him, but he was still the pharaoh, and it would be a careless king indeed who would entrust a foreign slave with one of the things he considered most important to the running of his country. Yuugi had left Atem very little choice in the matter, even if it had been entirely by accident, and now Atem was going to have to put safeguards in place to ensure Yuugi didn't simply run off with it.

"You shouldn't have done it, little Aibou."

Yuugi felt his face turn redder than ever. "My dad used to say the reason I get in so much trouble is because I just do whatever seems like a good idea at the time."

"Mmm." Atem cast a glance at Yuugi out of the corner of his eye. "Next time, do try to actually think about what you're doing before you do it. I'm surprised it didn't kill you. Mahado's always said he thought it could, if the wrong person attempted wearing it." He ran his thumb over the back of Yuugi's hand. "I shouldn't want to lose you."

Yuugi nodded and squeezed Atem's hand. The pair of them looked down at the man now sleeping peacefully on the mat.

"I'll sit with him awhile yet," Atem said. "And then we'll see what's to be done."

* * *

In the end it was Set who made Yuugi work the whole thing out, coming to check on Mahado's wound and finding Yuugi and Atem still sitting there. He took one look at the Ring, hanging heavy around Yuugi's neck, and his brows drew down in a heavy line.

"Atem – "

"It's my fault," Yuugi cut in. "I didn't know I was going to get stuck with it."

The look Set gave him told Yuugi there were more than a few important connectors left out, and so he went back to the beginning and told Set everything – taking the Ring from around Mahado's neck completely by impulse, and so quickly that Atem hadn't had the chance to even try to stop him – the vertigo when he opened his eyes – except there was one thing he left out. He didn't want Set to know about that weird, distorted throne-room tableau and the dark-skinned boy with too-long arms and legs and wide grey eyes, the one who'd whored himself out to the captain of a caravan to avoid being dumped in the middle of the desert after being caught as a stowaway. These were things he could explain to Atem, who would somehow understand. Set was too rational to comprehend such things. And he thought Atem must understand that, too, because although Yuugi received a sidelong glance from Atem's direction when he skipped over the landing in the throne room part, Atem said nothing. Set frowned.

"You mean to tell me you were able to take it from around his neck, and the worst that happened to you was a bit of dizziness?"

"Hey, you can have it." Yuugi held the Ring out with both hands. "Honestly? I could care less if I ever wear it again. I don't want it."

Something in Yuugi's voice must have convinced Set he was telling the truth, because after several moments' hard scrutiny Set reached for the Ring, stopped, sighed, and went about his original business. Yuugi peered anxiously over his shoulder as he unwrapped the bandages to look beneath them, and then Atem's hand was pulling him gently away.

"Come, little Aibou. We'll give him space to work."

Yuugi knew Atem meant no such thing – wanted to ask him about his omission – but went willingly enough all the same. Atem led him down the corridor and up the stairs, sat down on the bed. Yuugi joined him. Atem was silent; he knew that Yuugi knew what he wanted.

"He's afraid of me having it. I didn't want him thinking I'm going crazy, too." Yuugi hesitated.

**What the hell.**

"I'm not so sure I won't, actually. This thing is _bad_. You can't even guess."

"What makes you say so, little Aibou?"

Yuugi paused. There was no way to explain how the soft, insidious voice of the thing was creeping into his head, trying to convince Yuugi to do things he would never have thought of on his own – to peek, and pry, and look at things that were none of his business. How attractive it was trying to make those things look, or how after less than an hour Yuugi was already afraid it might actually succeed, if it had long enough to work on him. He was beginning to wonder how Bakura – Bakura Ryou, not the Bakura whose throat he would gladly rip out with his teeth to keep him from hurting Atem, and where had a thought _that_ vicious come from? – had managed two whole years without going insane. Yuugi covered his eyes with his hands. At last he came up with something. It wasn't fantastic, but it was a way to explain just a little what was going on.

"Did you know the first time Mahado used magic was because he got really, really pissed off at this native servant for calling him 'spider' and he literally _made_ him shut up without even meaning to? He couldn't open his mouth. Someone else had to take the curse off because Mahado didn't know how he cast it in the first place. I don't think I should be able to know things like that. This thing is _telling_ me stuff. I swear it is."

Atem considered. "I don't suppose there's any reason for you to wear it just now, if taking it off would ease your mind."

Yuugi reached for the cord at once. Some dark corner of his mind tried to ask what he'd do if he couldn't get it off. Yuugi answered it.

_I really will go crazy. That's all there is to it. If I can't get it off, I really will._

There was a kind of dark comfort in knowing – knowing that he would begin to panic, and would have to find a way to throw himself out the window before he lost his mind completely and tried to attack Atem. At least it was an answer – a needless one, he was glad to discover. The cord slipped easily over his head, his only difficulty the place where it caught and tangled on his hair for a few seconds before he reached back and pulled the wayward curls free. Yuugi tossed it onto the bed, glad to be rid of its weight. He reached up and clasped the schen ring in his hand, a little bit of light magic to counter the dark. Atem pulled him into a comforting embrace.

"Mahado and I took our Items at the same time," Atem told him. "For a fair amount of time – likely, I've been told, in part because of the bond already between us – I was able to read him quite easily, until we both learned the rather significant difference between the theory of the shadow magic and the truth of it. It's a perfectly natural channel of communication, although that may seem hard to believe. Just now his defenses are down, and because you're untrained in the use of the magic you're trying to control, you've a clear view into his mind. I'd not advise taking advantage of it, but it's nothing to be frightened of should it happen by chance."

"Oh." Yuugi supposed that was at least a little comforting. "Um, in that case, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Who's 'old horse-face?'"

Atem started laughing. It was the first real laughter Yuugi had heard out of him since Mahado was attacked, and he was glad to hear it.

"That would be Baruti."

"His tutor?"

"The very same."

Yuugi remembered the long-faced man in the throne room and wondered if he was the man Atem was talking about. He supposed it made sense.

"Why did Mahado call him old horse-face?"

"It was one of at least half a dozen names they lobbed back and forth on a regular basis. They couldn't stand one another. Mahado got rather the worst of it – Baruti didn't have to worry about being accused of impudence, and he came up with new insults on a regular basis. I think my personal favourite was 'buggery little sass-mouth.'"

Yuugi tried to imagine Mahado – even the lanky teenaged version the Ring had shown him – backtalking someone, and failed miserably. Then something Atem had said caught his attention.

"Wait. How do you know all this?"

"Baruti died four years ago, little Aibou. He would have been my tutor if he'd been able to keep me in one spot for more than five minutes at a time. He only turned me over to Mahado because he'd had rather enough of trying to deal with me, and I imagine he was rather irked when Mahado met with rather more success than he had. Set and I took bets once on who would come out alive if we locked them both in a room together for twenty-four hours with nothing but a dagger each."

"Who'd you bet on?"

"Mahado, of course. Baruti was sixteen years his senior, and without the Ring to help him – "

"Wait, _what?_"

"He was the original bearer of the Millennium Ring, little Aibou. I would have thought that rather self-evident, given that his student holds it now."

Yes, Yuugi supposed it should have been obvious. He shrugged. "So if they hated each other so much, why didn't Mahado go somewhere else after he finished his apprenticeship?"

It was Atem's turn to shrug. "Such is one of the great mysteries of life, I suppose. Perhaps he'd begun to consider the complex his home, and so found a way to make himself useful here. He certainly wouldn't be the first."

Yuugi poked at the Ring. "Okay. So I'm not going crazy, there really is someone Mahado used to call names, and I can take this thing off if I want to?"

Atem shrugged and nodded. "I'd advise not doing so outside this room, though. It's all too easy to forget an item laid down carelessly in any random place."

Yuugi nodded. "Then can't I just leave it here? I mean – " Yuugi's shoulders slumped as Atem shook his head. "You think somebody'd try to steal it, don't you."

"If the wrong person were to find it, yes."

Yuugi sighed. "Do you suppose Set's done yet?"

"Likely enough. Do you wish to return, little Aibou?"

"I was going to ask if you wanted to, actually."

Atem nodded. Before he could get off the bed a very familiar tread sounded on the staircase.

"How is he?"

"Difficult to say just now, but not dying." Set tossed something at Yuugi. "You'll want this."

Yuugi unfolded the fabric and found a tunic. Of course – to hide the Ring. Yuugi pulled it over his head, wishing bitterly that he didn't have to trap the awful thing between cloth and his bare skin.

_Let this be over soon . . . please._

* * *

Mahado appeared perfectly awake when Yuugi pushed open the door. Atem slid into the room.

"Are you quite wakened now?"

Mahado closed his eyes and sighed. "You're supposed to be at lessons, Atem. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Atem cast a sidelong glance at Yuugi, who felt something twist in his stomach. "I've finished."

"Then why are you still here, and not at your figures?"

"I finished those, too." Atem reached out absently to push Mahado's hair off his face. Mahado caught Atem's wrist.

"Don't you try making up to _me_. You're still getting strapped when Siamun comes out." Mahado's eyes opened. "Or do you think you can find a way to convince him it was a spirit in the cupboards last night? A troublesome akh that came just to steal a piece of quartz?"

"He wouldn't believe such, Teacher."

Yuugi waited for Mahado's answer, bizarre and yet completely coherent, but nothing was forthcoming. After a few moments his eyes closed and his head turned to the side. Atem sighed.

"No real change from this morning, then."

Yuugi reached for Atem's hand and squeezed it. Atem squeezed back. They watched the figure on the mat sleep. Eventually he spoke again, and when he did, Yuugi got goosebumps.

"_Yuugi, mind the trap card . . . _"

_He's remembering forward. Anzu calls it _presque vu._ Remembering something that hasn't happened yet. He's actually remembering being the Dark Magician . . . god!_

Atem's brow furrowed even as his face went pale. "Did you tell him your true name, little Aibou?"

Yuugi shook his head. "No way." Atem frowned.

"Strange . . . "

Yuugi waited to see if more enigmatic advice would be coming, but Mahado seemed to be done.

Until his hand shot out and grabbed Yuugi's wrist.

Yuugi's cry of surprise was cut off when he landed against Mahado's chest.

**I thought it was Atem this was supposed to happen to?**

Yuugi considered and rejected the idea of pulling away in half a second. For one, Atem had given him explicit instructions to humour the man currently kissing him directly on the mouth, and for another, he had no idea what a struggle might do to Mahado's shoulder. And so he simply froze in place and waited to be released.

"Should I tell him tonight?"

Yuugi had no idea who Mahado was talking about – or who he thought he was talking to – and so had no way to give a real answer.

_Now what do I do?_

For once New Yuugi decided to take pity on him instead of taunting him, and Yuugi seized the proposed course of action at once, trying to ignore the way they were talking with their faces still about half an inch apart and how every time his lips moved they were brushing Mahado's face.

"Well, what do _you_ think?"

Atem heard Mahado's chuckle, but not the words that followed, and when he let go at last and Yuugi sat up – looking dazed and pushing his hair off his face – Atem raised an amused eyebrow.

"You were saying something about his kissing me, I seem to recall."

"Yeah, I was just thinking that." Yuugi wondered if he looked as off-kilter as he felt. He was by no means a close-minded person, but that had been _weird_.

"What did he say to you, little Aibou? You're rather pale."

"Well, I might have an answer to your great mystery of the ages, or whatever it was you called it."

"Why?"

"'I thought I was the sass-mouth.' That's what he said."

Atem's brow furrowed. "What – _oh._" His eyes grew serious. "Are you quite certain?"

"Positive."

Atem turned his eyes toward the man on the mat. "And we never knew . . . " He sighed. "That certainly explains a lot."

Yuugi wondered if he'd be considered rude to wipe his mouth. He wasn't entirely sure he liked the idea of being kissed by somebody who wasn't Atem, even if they didn't know they were doing it and had at least been considerate enough to not use tongue. Atem solved the problem for him by pulling Yuugi into his lap and nestling against his shoulder. Yuugi cuddled back, his worries over the kiss at least temporarily alleviated. Atem's arms snaked around Yuugi's waist.

"I wonder why he never told anybody."

"I think I could explain it to you easily enough, little Aibou."

"Yeah? How?"

"Mahado's position in my father's court – which was far more traditional than my own – was precarious enough. His conduct had to be absolutely irreproachable in every way, and though it would have been Baruti's privilege – for Mahado continued to be called his servant even after he was apprenticed – I don't think it remarkable that he'd be afraid to let anyone know such."

"But after you became pharaoh – "

"Baruti died the night I became pharaoh, little Aibou. He and my father both, within an hour of one another." Atem's face took on a sad, drawn expression Yuugi did not like. "There would have been no chance for Mahado to reveal anything, even had he desired such."

" . . . oh."

"Thank you for doing as I asked." Atem ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair, careful to keep his burned palm away. "Your loyalty amazes me sometimes. I only wish I knew . . . I understand why he felt the need to hide. But how? How does one hide such for twenty or thirty years?"

"By pretending you hate each other until nobody else is around," Yuugi answered. Atem sighed.

"And yet after such a time one would think it would have become obvious."

"Not really. I mean, you don't usually think of somebody calling somebody else 'old horse-face' and then kissing the heck out of them."

Atem chuckled. "True enough." He brushed Mahado's hair off his face. Mahado let out the kind of half-voiced sigh Yuugi only ever heard from sleeping people and shifted closer to Atem's hand before stilling again. Yuugi curled closer into Atem's arms.

"I can't wait until this is all over."

"No more can I, little Aibou. No more can I."

* * *

Yuugi lay miserably on Atem's bed, listening to the half-whispered sounds on the staircase. Set was berating Atem for letting Yuugi lay hands on the Ring. Atem was trying to explain that by the time he'd realised what Yuugi was doing, it had already been too late, and that when he'd tried to take possession of the Ring himself he'd gotten only the burns on his hands for his pains.

Yuugi, meanwhile, was waiting for Atem to come back upstairs so Yuugi could finish rubbing aloe on the burns. The Ring he'd discarded immediately on entering the room. It was sitting now with the Pyramid on Atem's dressing table. More than ever Yuugi wanted to give it back, to rewind time and tell his earlier self what a very bad idea this was going to be, but it was too late for that.

Atem returned to the room looking flushed and flustered and more than a little angry. Yuugi sat up and waited for him to return to the bed. At last he did, and Yuugi began his work on the burns anew. They sat in silence for a time. At last Yuugi broke it.

"Atem? Are you okay?"

Atem sighed. "I suppose that depends entirely upon your definition of such, little Aibou." He paused. "Set wants me to bind you here to prevent your absconding with the Ring, and nothing I say can convince him you'd not do such a thing."

"Maybe you should do it anyway. I mean, so people don't get the wrong idea." Yuugi tried to smile. It felt wrong on his face. "I don't want to get you in trouble."

Atem sighed and ran a hand through Yuugi's hair. "And yet I'm loath to do it. I trust you, little Aibou."

"Yeah, well – " Yuugi shrugged. "Even if you do, maybe it's better this way. I'll live."

"I personally don't see what he's worried about. I never go anywhere but I can turn and see you coming along behind me."

"I don't think he likes me much."

"More than you think, perhaps. There are very few people Set actively likes."

In the end they reached a compromise, the idea of a binding that would not allow Yuugi to leave the palace without Atem. They had lunch. They returned to Mahado's sickroom. Eventually Set would catch up with them there, and then Atem – who was not quite as good at controlled spell-magic as he was at summoning magic – could ask Set to cast.

And so they sat.

And waited.

* * *

"It's infected."

"Are you certain?"

Set rocked back on his heels and sighed. "There's no doubt. Atem, this is madness. We need to get a real doctor."

Yuugi looked down at the basin of bloody water he was holding and tried to keep from getting sick. The first thing Set had done was to wash away the thick, ugly clots around the wound, and once they were gone the angry red ring around it had been all too clear.

"And yet if he speaks while he sleeps – "

"If he speaks, then he speaks. I don't have the slightest idea why he's not dead yet, but if you want to keep him around, I'd suggest you stop worrying about what he might say and begin worrying about whether or not he ends up with an infection in his heart. That's a death sentence."

"And who do you think can take care of him? I've never met a physician to match him."

"I'll go to the temple of Imhotep and see what I can't find."

Atem sighed. "If you say so, let it be so."

Set rewrapped the wound with a gentleness Yuugi would not have expected of him and then cleaned the blood from his hands. "I'll be off this afternoon."

"May the gods grant you find the answers you seek."

Set's eyes met Atem's, and Yuugi was frightened by what he saw in them.

"I hope so, Atem. I certainly hope so."

* * *

Yuugi sat in his usual place, too worried to not fidget. A week, Atem had told Mana. A few days and Mana might heal him herself, he'd told Isis. But a week had mostly gone and as far as Yuugi knew, Mahado was still too close to the edge of death for Mana to do more than hold his hand. Set had overruled Atem at last and brought a healer to the palace, a woman so wrinkled and seamed she made Shemei look like a blushing virgin. This woman had stayed at Mahado's side, working spells and potions, for four days. Yuugi was starting to be afraid he'd destroyed everything; with Mahado's death would come darkness, and then game over, insert coin.

Atem sighed and shifted his weight on the throne. Yuugi shifted in sympathy, and the Millennium Ring – hidden from the curious eyes of other slaves by the tunic he'd worn since the day he'd taken it – also shifted. Yuugi remembered the Puzzle, how it had always seemed warm and comforting when he touched it. The Ring remained icy-cold in spite of being trapped against Yuugi's chest at all hours of the day.

Atem dismissed the court. Yuugi counted ten and followed him to the kitchens, where they shared a lunch that Yuugi – who had ended up going without breakfast – wolfed down, while Atem picked at his rice and lentils with little enthusiasm.

"You know, if you don't eat, you're going to get sick."

Atem sighed. "I'm aware, little Aibou. I'm aware." He scooped up some rice and ate. Yuugi watched him closely.

"Are you walking today?"

Atem's eyes flickered to Yuugi's face. "I thought perhaps a game of senet wouldn't go amiss."

Yuugi nodded gratefully. Recognising easily that Yuugi was having difficulty with the magic of the Ring, Atem had taken to retreating to his room at midday so Yuugi could take it off for an hour, away from the prying eyes of those who mustn't know he had it.

They played two games of senet; once Yuugi beat Atem, and once Atem beat Yuugi. Then Yuugi slipped the Ring back over his head and exchanged his waist-wrap for the tunic Set had provided.

The afternoon was just as bad as the morning, report after endless report on minutiae from all over Egypt. Yuugi wished for something, anything, to relieve him from listening to one more official talking about grain yield and temple repair, and so when the woman Set had hired appeared in the doorway, Yuugi looked at her with both interest and trepidation.

Atem silenced the murmuring officials with a single hand. "Have you news?"

The woman approached the throne and bowed low. "He's awakened, Great Pharaoh."

Joy and anxiety warred on Atem's face. "And has he spoken?"

"He wishes to see one they call Mana."

Atem's face broke into a sunny grin. "Aibou."

Yuugi got to his feet. "Great Pharaoh?"

Atem's eyes did not leave the woman's face. "You know where to find her."

Yuugi nodded. Atem dismissed him. Yuugi hurried through the myriad corridors until he reached the kitchen quarter, where Mana was following along at Idut's heel. Yuugi reached for her shoulder. Mana jumped and turned.

"The pharaoh wants you to come with me."

Yuugi was slightly surprised when Mana asked no questions – Mahado had on more than one occasion sighed over Mana's tendency to continue asking "why?" even after they'd come to the end of any possible thread of answers – but counted his blessings all the same. Mana did not speak until she realised which corridor they were in, and then she asked only if they were going to see Mahado. Yuugi nodded. Then he noted the dark circles under her eyes. Little wonder she wasn't in a particularly chatty mood. Yuugi pushed open the door.

"_Teacher!_"

Mana was past Yuugi and in Mahado's arms before Yuugi could even register her movement. Mahado pulled her close and let her head come to rest against his good shoulder. Mana curled up with her arms tightly around his middle, pressed against him like an affectionate kitten.

"Daddy . . . "

Mahado did not contradict her; he only held her and ran his fingers through her hair as she cried. Yuugi opened his mouth to ask if Mahado needed anything – food, drink, a blanket for his arms.

**Shh.**

Yuugi slipped out, still hearing Mahado's murmurs, the kind of soft nonsense words Yuugi remembered his own mother using when he'd woken from a perpetual nightmare of falling forever through nothing. _I'm here, don't worry. It's going to be all right. Shhh. Don't cry now._

Yuugi was on his way back to the throne room when he heard people headed in his direction. He was somehow not at all surprised when Set and Atem turned into his corridor.

"Little Aibou. How is he?"

"I kind of didn't get the chance to ask, but he looks okay. He was sitting up."

"Did you take Mana?"

Yuugi nodded. "She's still with him."

Atem exchanged a glance with Set. "I'd rather like to see him myself."

Yuugi trotted back down the corridor at Atem's side, wondering the whole time how he could be shorter than Yuugi and still better able to match Set's speed. Atem pushed the door ajar.

Mana was still curled in Mahado's arms, still crying, Mahado still telling her the little lies all parents tell, hand still resting gently against the mop of unruly brown hair. _Shh. It's all right. Don't cry._

Yuugi felt somehow guilty, as though he were intruding on an incredibly private moment. Mahado kissed her head, lips pressed into her hair, and in that moment Yuugi thought he looked as though he thoroughly deserved the title Mana had conferred on him.

Atem let the door swing softly closed.

* * *

"She'll tire you."

"She's no bother," Mahado said. He'd shifted backward so he could lean against the wall, but it was the only real change; Mana was still cradled in his arms like a toddler. "She's light enough." He turned his eyes on Atem. "When did she last sleep?"

Atem shrugged. "Idut hasn't mentioned insomnia, but I suppose she may have been restless."

"Restless," Mahado said, just a little too gently to be a snort. "I think if we were to leave her undisturbed she could sleep from now through to the morning, and I haven't even the slightest idea what time it is."

"Getting on close to sunset, actually."

Mahado smoothed Mana's hair. "She said you put her in with Idut."

"That was Set, actually, but it seemed as good a solution as any. I certainly wasn't sending her back out there alone."

"No," Mahado said. "No, I wouldn't have, either." He paused. "Was he taken care of properly?"

"Buried with blessings. I couldn't bring myself to cast him out after you'd proved beyond all doubt he wasn't entirely responsible for his own actions. Let the gods judge him; they're wiser than I."

Mahado nodded. Yuugi passed him a bowl of milk, which he drank gratefully. Wine and water squeezed from rags simply didn't cut it for a man who'd lost so much blood it was a miracle he'd survived. Mahado set the empty bowl on the floor. Mana sighed and shifted in his arms, her head coming to rest in the hollow of Mahado's neck. He brushed her hair down absently with his right hand; his left arm was useless for much beyond curling around her waist.

"I suppose next you'll be saying you want her to stay in here tonight."

"I'd rather she's not woken, but if you think you can get her moved without disturbing her rest, I have no objection."

"I can put her in my room, if you want," Yuugi offered. "It's not like I'm using it right now anyway."

Atem and Mahado both seemed to be deliberating Yuugi's offer.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt."

Yuugi listened to some of the conversation the men shared, and then took Mahado's bowl to the kitchens. He stopped on the way back to pull down his bedcovers; he didn't believe he'd have a problem moving Mana, but pulling down the blankets without disturbing her might be an issue.

Mana's protest at being pulled from Mahado's arms was minimal, the instinctual objection of anyone whose sleep was disturbed. From there it was easy – if Atem was small then Mana was positively tiny, and Yuugi's arms had grown strong with palace labour. He found he was able to carry her with almost no effort at all. The hard part was making sure he didn't drop her when he put her down again. Mana sighed and wrapped her arms around Yuugi's pillow. Yuugi pulled the blankets up and tucked them around her. He was on his way out when he decided to kiss her goodnight, and the smile that lit her face even in sleep told him he'd decided right. Yuugi shut the door quietly behind him, turned around, and almost ran into Atem, closing the door opposite. Atem held a finger to his lips, and Yuugi followed him to the main corridor in silence.

"Is he sleeping?"

"Well on to it. Being unconscious for a week – what's your phrase, little Aibou? – messed with his mind. But he's worn himself out, whether he wants to admit it or not. He'll sleep well tonight."

"So is he going to be okay?"

Atem's mouth quirked. "I'd bet my lot and honour half a week from now I'll be hauling him out of the throne room, with him telling me that spending a week in a coma only partially induced is absolutely no cause for concern and he's well as can be."

Yuugi considered. "You sure you want to bet your whole lot?"

"What are you getting at, little Aibou?"

Yuugi turned to face Atem fully and grinned. "I have an ivory hair clip that says it's two days."

Atem raised an amused eyebrow. "Have you, now."

"Yup."

"You think it wise to wager with me, little Aibou?"

"Why not? You're not the one with the Millennium Necklace."

Atem started laughing. "I'll take your gamble, then."

"And if I win, I get your lot and honour. Right?"

"I hardly find that a fair wager."

"Well, pick something, then. It's all I've got." This was technically not true, but Yuugi would have died before betting his bracelet. Atem seemed to be considering. At last he slipped a ring off his finger and held it out on his palm. Yuugi held his own hands up, palms out.

"No way. That's not fair, either."

"You think I'd cheat you?"

"No. That's not it at all. But – "

"Then accept my ante, or call off."

Yuugi bit his lip. He hadn't been expecting Atem to take him seriously. He didn't mind losing – he had a reed clip around somewhere that would serve just as well – but even though he found it difficult to think of Atem as anything but a plain old person, he felt more than a little uneasy about the idea of winning the pharaoh's jewelry. It was like stealing from a church.

**What, you worship him?**

_Oh, shut up._

New Yuugi, the evil prat, tittered. Yuugi ignored him. "I don't call off. You know that."

Yuugi was shocked when Atem actually squirmed. "I do."

Yuugi sighed and gave up. "So if it's two days, I take your ring. If it's five, you get this." Yuugi tapped his clip. "And if it's anything else – what? All bets are off?"

"Fair enough."

Yuugi stopped mid-nod. "Wait. Wait just a minute."

"Mmm?"

"That's not your signet ring or anything, is it? Because if it is – "

"It's not." Atem's mouth quirked. "Nothing anywhere near so distinguished, little Aibou. But then, you did say you wished it to be an even wager."

"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't taking anything important. I mean, I can just imagine what would happen if Set caught me wearing something that's, you know, part of your title or something. I don't think it'd be pretty."

"You won't be."

"Okay. Then – "

"Because you'll lose."

Yuugi grinned again. If Jii-chan had seen that grin, he would have recognised it easily – and why not? It was one he'd worn himself on many occasions.

"We'll see."

* * *

Yuugi knew he was dreaming from the moment he looked at the piece of papyrus in front of him, covered in a mix of hieroglyphics and symbols he knew he'd never have been able to identify in his waking hours. It was a basic summoning spell. He brushed hair out of his eyes – straight, and of entirely the wrong colour – and went back to the papyrus. He had a fairly good idea what he was actually seeing, but unless things got decidedly sticky, he wasn't going to interfere.

Behind him, a door opened. Yuugi knew without turning who he'd see; it wasn't yet time for Baruti's return, and Set was diligently practicing runes in the library. He didn't bother questioning the knowledge of these things.

"I see you're back." The voice was deeper than Yuugi's own, and Yuugi recognised it instantly. When no answer was forthcoming, he swiveled Mahado's body around on the bench. A half-childish version of Atem was standing behind him, water still beaded in his hair, skin dusty where he'd gone running before he was dry. His clothes were missing, awkward preteen body bare for all to see, and Yuugi was immediately sure that his earlier suspicions were correct. If this was a dream, it was a dream of a memory.

"I take it you have a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why I found your lessons abandoned this afternoon."

Atem hung his head; no, he had no reasonable explanation. He was caught.

"Have you nothing to say for yourself?"

Atem shook his head without looking up.

"Then perhaps you'd be good enough to explain why, if you had no legitimate reason to absent yourself, you still chose to do so."

He could see Atem's throat working the way anyone's throat did when they were caught and didn't want to admit it, but took no pity. Atem had disobeyed, and Mahado intended it to be the last time. The next time Atem went running off could be the last if the wrong person were to see him and decide a little regicide was in order.

"I expect you to make up your lessons this evening," he said, after it became clear that Atem was unable to explain himself. Atem nodded, eyes still on a positively fascinating bit of floor.

"And you may expect to be tested tomorrow on what you ought to have studied today."

Another nod. He felt a momentary pang of conscience and suppressed it. If the boy couldn't exercise enough self-control to keep inside and finish a basic summoning lesson, then there was absolutely no hope for his attention span when it was absolutely necessary.

"You may go."

Atem nodded for the third time and turned away. Then he turned back.

"Teacher?"

Yuugi felt Mahado's head lift. "Yes?"

"Are you angry with me?"

Mahado sighed. "No, Atem, I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed in you."

Atem made his gesture of respect to his tutor and turned away again. Yuugi was shocked to realise Atem was fighting a losing battle with tears; Mahado's words had touched a nerve all the whippings in the world couldn't reach.

"Atem."

Atem looked back, but said nothing. Yuugi wondered if he was afraid his voice would waver, or maybe crack; he was the right age for it.

"Your clothes are on my bed."

Atem nodded. Yuugi heard Atem's footsteps pad away down the hall.

"Atem."

A pause as the footsteps returned. A note of tired humour crept into Mahado's voice.

"That means you're allowed to retrieve them."

"Yes, Teacher."

Yuugi let Mahado's eyes fall back to the papyrus in front of him, wondering all the while if he could actually change the memory, or if he was restricted to what Mahado was dreaming about down another corridor not so very far away. Then the dream faded, and Yuugi opened his eyes on the darkness of Atem's bedroom. He glanced to his left and was completely unsurprised to find his hand sitting on top of the Ring.

_Okay, that does it. This thing goes back tomorrow. Absolutely. I'm sick of this._

He took his hand away and threw his arm back over Atem's side. Atem sighed and curled closer. Yuugi wrapped his arms around Atem's waist.

Tomorrow was time enough.

* * *

Yuugi slid into the throne room still rubbing sleep from his eyes; Atem, in a misguided attempt at being kind, had let Yuugi have a lie-in until Atem was fully dressed. On the weekend this would have been no problem at all, and Yuugi would happily have been a good sport about returning the favour. Today was a weekday, however, and Atem did not usually laze about until midday during the week. Yuugi had jumpstarted on pure adrenaline and made it to the throne room in a record eleven minutes or so. His eyes were not entirely focused, and so it wasn't until Atem came into the throne room that he noticed.

Atem, more awake than Yuugi by far, stopped short halfway down the room. Yuugi looked up to see what he was staring at.

"You never give up, do you?"

Mahado shrugged the one shoulder he could shrug with. "I saw no reason to stay away."

"You – " Atem shook his head, but didn't speak again until he was seated. "And you call me incorrigible."

"Mmm."

Yuugi waited to see what Atem would do next, but nothing happened.

_Oh, you little welsher._

Yuugi found he couldn't be angry; he'd been tricked, yes, but he should have expected it, and the – yes, the _Atemness_ of the whole thing made him want to laugh.

It was sometime well onto noon when Mahado first let on at all that he felt anything less than his best, rubbing surreptitiously at his arm with his right hand. Yuugi thought at first he might be the only one who noticed it. Then the glitter of the Ring came into Atem's view as Mahado's arm moved, and Atem twisted to face him.

"You should be resting."

"I'm quite all right, Great – "

"Don't you give me that. I'm leaving now, and if you're here when I return, Mahado, I swear I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here no matter what kind of protest you raise."

Yuugi raised his hand to smother a fit of the giggles. Set raised one eyebrow; Mahado raised both. Atem sighed.

"Fine. I'll get Set to do it for me. But if I were just a bit taller – "

Siamun and Mahado both started to laugh. Isis tried to stop herself and couldn't. Yuugi nearly fell over when even Ankhnadin's mouth twitched, and then he couldn't help himself anymore; he joined in about the same time as Shada. Atem waited them all out; he could take jokes about his height in perfect stride. They'd long since ceased to bother him, if they ever had. At last Mahado remembered where he was and what he was supposed to be doing and forced his face straight. The rest of the council – those members of it who were laughing, that was – followed suit. Atem nodded, as though something had pleased him.

"And on that note, we'd best disperse. I'll see you all in perhaps an hour."

Yuugi was waiting in the hall when Atem came near; having to get everywhere ahead of Atem had taught Yuugi more than a few of the palace's secrets, especially the shortcuts. Yuugi grinned.

"I thought you said I was going to lose."

Atem shrugged. "I suppose it's technically impossible to win one hundred percent of the time. Even the gods can be tricked. Well, then – "

"Um."

"Mmm?"

"Can you wait until tonight?" Yuugi felt a pale blush starting on his face for no good reason at all. "It's just I think if I try to put it on, it's going to get stuck. Your hands are smaller than mine."

Atem considered, then put the ring back on. "I can find a cord for you to wear it on, if such is your pleasure."

Yuugi untied the leather string around his neck. "Here, try this."

Atem slid the cord through the ring. It tumbled merrily down to meet the schen ring at the bottom.

"It's a bit Roman for my taste, but if it works for you I won't complain."

Yuugi and Atem turned as one. Mahado was just catching up with them.

"Didn't I tell you to rest?"

"A man has to eat sometime." He eyed the ring. "Should I assume congratulations are in order?"

Atem's brow furrowed. "Mmm?"

"The Romans, Atem. I know you studied this." Mahado paused, that absentminded-professor expression on his face once again. "Or was that Shada?"

"It must have been. All I remember about the Romans is their unfortunate tendency to invade countries that don't belong to them."

_Oh yeah. The Romans invented the wedding ring._ The blush on Yuugi's face deepened as Mahado fell into stride with Atem and began telling him about wedding rings and the insane Roman emperor with four husbands. Yuugi found himself amused by Mahado's tone, which was only just barely instructive instead of gossipy.

**Well, duh. This is fairly recent history for him, not ancient.**

The three of them turned into a storeroom, and Yuugi was shocked to see a pale blush to match his own spreading across Atem's face.

"It's nothing so elaborate, Mahado. He only won a bet."

Mahado's eyebrows nearly disappeared right into his hairline. "Against _you_?"

Atem nodded.

"You're losing your touch."

Atem shrugged. Yuugi ducked out to get a tray. By the time he returned the conversation had shifted to Mana's lessons, currently being conducted by Karim, and Yuugi was hopelessly lost.

Yuugi was quite all right with that.

* * *

"Good evening."

Yuugi raised a hand in greeting and stared, hard, at the half-finished game of Reversi in front of him. He put a black piece on the board. Atem sat down across from him.

"Are you playing white, or black?"

"White." Yuugi plunked a piece down. "And black as a fill-in."

Atem chuckled and took a piece from the pile. "I don't suppose you'd let me cut in."

"I don't care. It's just a way to pass time. Kind of boring when you're alone, actually."

Atem played. Yuugi followed suit. They finished the game in perhaps ten minutes, and then Yuugi scooped the pieces up into the linen bag. Atem's ring glittered against Yuugi's chest, and Atem nodded at it.

"It suits you better than Mahado's, I think."

"Huh?" Yuugi looked down. "Oh. Yeah. Here – " Yuugi reached up to fumble loose the knot that held the cord around his neck. Atem stopped him.

"You won it fairly, little Aibou. I knew the odds and made my ante willingly."

"Yeah, but it's yours."

"Not any longer." He smiled, a sunny grin both gentler and sweeter than his old cocky smirk but still clearly from the same family. "It's just as well. What use have I for this?" He let his finger trail over Yuugi's clip. Yuugi shrugged.

"Maybe you could kill spiders with it."

Atem laughed. Then he pushed the Reversi board carefully out of his way and leaned forward to kiss Yuugi a belated hello. Yuugi responded eagerly, trying to climb into Atem's lap without breaking contact. The results were mixed; Yuugi managed to bridge the space between them, but in the process he lost his balance and both he and Atem went tumbling down on top of the Reversi board. Atem raised his eyebrows.

"I think perhaps it's prudent to clear this up, little Aibou."

Yuugi nodded, untangled himself, and padded to the corner to put the game on its accustomed shelf before returning to sit on the bed once more. Atem pulled him close.

"Some nights I think the closest I could ever hold you isn't close enough."

Yuugi nuzzled against him. "Yeah?"

"Mmm." Atem rested his head on Yuugi's shoulder. "You're a delight to hold, little Aibou. Even if you have grown larger than me."

"No offense, but it doesn't take much."

Atem chuckled. "I suppose it doesn't." He sighed and ran his fingers into Yuugi's hair. Yuugi turned his head for another kiss. Somewhere in the middle it changed from a kiss to something a little less controlled, a little more heated. The pair of them tumbled backward on the bed. Yuugi grabbed Atem's wrists and pinned them before he could protest. Atem squirmed and tried to throw Yuugi off. Yuugi planted his knees next to Atem's and stood his ground, letting his kisses slip from Atem's lips to his jaw to the top of his neck.

"If you think for a single second – "

Yuugi found the clasp on Atem's collar and released it, eagerly attacking Atem's skin the moment it was exposed. Atem gasped. Yuugi grinned against his neck, feeling very glad Atem had taken to removing both crown and Pyramid before joining Yuugi to chat on any given night. He found the clips that held the shoulderpiece and released those, too.

"What on _earth_ do you think you're doing?" The statement came out broken in the middle and about an octave higher than normal everywhere else. Yuugi let his hands slip down Atem's arms before eagerly attacking his newly-bared collarbone.

"Celebrating."

"You're completely – " Atem stopped midsentence. Yuugi was only momentarily thrown when Atem actually moaned aloud.

"Incorrigible?"

Atem indicated agreement without saying a word; Yuugi's blushing-virgin days were long gone, and he was a quick learner.

"Come on, admit it. You wouldn't love me if I were any other way." His hands found Atem's belt and discarded it. "You wear way too many clothes, you know that?" He dodged another of Atem's halfhearted attempts at dislodging him and went for the hem of Atem's tunic. "It's really inconvenient."

Yuugi pulled back to take in his handiwork. Atem's breathing had grown irregular, his eyes dark. There were no love-bites – Yuugi wasn't stupid – but there were plenty of places where love-bites could have been, if he'd dared. Yuugi wished with everything in him that he didn't have to surrender, but that wasn't an option. In this, if in nothing else, it was forever his duty to be second. He leaned forward to kiss the side of Atem's neck again, and this time when Atem hooked a foot behind Yuugi's knee and tried to flip them both over, Yuugi let him. Atem looked down at him, still breathing like a man fresh off a two-mile race. He brushed Yuugi's hair, too long now to be called fringe, off his face, and proceeded to return Yuugi's favours.

There had been a time when Yuugi had been accustomed to Atem's touch. Once it had been incredibly self-centred, though not unkind. Then Atem had taken ill, and Yuugi had grown used to an entirely different kind of contact. Until very recently indeed, that second touch was the only kind Yuugi had actively known, the tactile memory of his first months with Atem fading slowly as more important things crowded in. With the fresh changes in their relationship had come a different kind of touch altogether, inquisitive and ready to please. It was this touch to which Yuugi was now subjected, Atem's usually gentle hands just a little rougher with excitement and impatience. Yuugi didn't mind; he wasn't a porcelain doll, and would have objected to being treated like one.

Yuugi let out a sound that was not quite a squeak when Atem touched him _there_. He'd known it was coming and still hadn't expected it – or more correctly, hadn't expected the cold substance on Atem's fingers.

_I bet you think that's really funny._

Yuugi pulled Atem into his arms and let his head fall back readily when Atem kissed his neck. He'd once thought holding hands was heaven, and it was true. This was also heaven, but heaven of an entirely different nature. Yuugi locked his legs behind Atem's so he could move his hips in a different direction; he had absolutely no regrets about not being born female, but he had to admit it would have made this whole thing a great deal more convenient. Then Atem found a _there_ even better than the first one, and Yuugi stopped worrying about convenience.

He wasn't at all surprised when Atem collapsed into his arms and then off to one side. Yuugi snuggled as close as he could, still riding the high from their lovemaking.

"That was fantastic."

Atem said nothing for a fair amount of time, long enough for Yuugi to start being afraid he'd said the wrong thing. Then -

"Little Aibou."

"Mmm?"

"What did you say just now?"

"Huh?"

"You cried out."

"Did I?" Yuugi had to admit he didn't remember; most of the last ten ecstatic minutes were as fuzzy as old Polaroid photographs in his mind.

"You did." Atem said something Yuugi recognised as a very butchered form of Japanese.

"Um – say that again?"

This time it was a little closer to the proper pronunciation, and Yuugi was perfectly able to decipher it. "Aishiteru means 'I love you.' Where I'm from, I mean."

"It's a pretty word in your mouth, little Aibou."

"Japanese is a pretty language. I think so, anyway. I'm probably just biased."

"Japanese?"

"The language my people speak."

"Ah." Atem stroked Yuugi's hair. "Are such the words you used the day you saved my crown?"

For several seconds Yuugi was at a loss. Then he remembered the things he'd shouted at Atem the day of the Ophirites' visit, trying to catch his attention.

"Yeah."

"I think perhaps I'd have to concur, then."

Yuugi smiled. "Glad we agree."

Atem sighed, the sound deep and content. Then Yuugi felt the change in his body as something occurred to him.

"What? What's wrong?"

Atem sat up. "Forgive me, little Aibou. It's only just I'd soonest not sleep in these." And in the dying light of the oil lamp Yuugi saw Atem motion to the bands neither of them had gotten around to removing from Atem's arms and legs. Yuugi started laughing.

"Whoops."

"Indeed." Yuugi could hear the smile in Atem's voice.

"Want some help?"

"I suspect we'd end up in another go-round if I said yes, little Aibou."

Yuugi wrapped his arms around Atem's shoulders from behind. "Hey, you have a problem with that?"

Atem turned his head to smile his new, sunny grin. "Not at all, little Aibou. Not at all."


	22. Final Fantasy

Ahoy! Nina here.

First off, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I tend to slow down as I get to the end of a story, partly because there's not much left and partly because this is the place where there's the most potential for serious plotholes and badfic (hello, _Deathly Hallows_!). On top of that, I finally caved and got a copy of Mahjongg. And then there are two big stories that I want to work on that are trying to eat my brain, plus at least half a dozen oneshots, a sequel, and I'm tempted to try my hand at Yuugi/Anzu/Dark Yuugi just because Shannon and I were lamenting the lack of good stories with that ship in it, and _somebody_ ought to write a proper one. The result of all this is that I'll be sitting trying to write something in WITS, and then all of a sudden I realise that what's on my screen is this scene from the Yuugi/Mahado plot gerbil that invaded my head a couple of days ago, and that said scene has abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with what I was supposed to be writing. Lots of gerbils - good thing. Lots of gerbils that try to eat each other – not so good. Let's hope it stops.

Now. Let's see. What else? Mmm, obligatory warning: next chapter is likely to be the last. Just so you know.

And also, there is still someone out there with an unclaimed prompt from the mystery arc. As I said before: if neither _One Eight Hundred_ nor _All My Scattered Pieces_ look like anything you asked for, and you know you got the answer, please write to me and give me a prompt to write. You earned it – don't leave it to rot!

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 22/23  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**, with a bit of onesided **loyalshipping**.  
**Word Count**: 12 124  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations**, **nudity**, and a bit of **language**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: Yuugi sticks his foot in his mouth. Atem gets laid.  
**Disclaimer**: Anything you recognise? Totally not mine.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Eh. Sex?  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in all relevant countries, **both Yuugi and Atem are now above the age of statutory consent.**  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for all you folks who have stuck with it and understood that three weeks to write pretty good is better than one week to write shit.

* * *

Yuugi was having a dream, a good one. Most people he knew didn't like flying dreams, but somehow when Yuugi was having flying dreams he always landed in the old treehouse in Anzu's backyard, and someone was always there waiting to play. Today it was Atem, although what the pair of them were doing there was beyond Yuugi to say; he knew perfectly well there were no treehouses in Egypt. Yuugi looked at the board sitting in front of Atem; it looked like a senet board, but there were Reversi pieces on it. Atem seemed to be playing black, as usual. Yuugi watched him put a piece on the board.

"Poor men, rich men, leaders of the land!" Yuugi heard, in a rough approximation of Anzu's voice. Yuugi'd heard the song more than a few times – it was one of Anzu's favourites - and knew the rest of the line well enough, even though it had been two years since he'd heard it: _see 'em with their trousers off, they're never quite as grand._ He raised a hand to his face to hide a grin; as a rule Yuugi distrusted any philosophies put forth in musicals, but that one was definitely true.

White moved.

Atem examined the board, looked up at Yuugi, and raised a playful eyebrow before plunking a piece on the board.

"King me."

Yuugi opened his mouth to protest – there were no king pieces in Reversi – and then felt his feet moving entirely without his consent. He got on his knees on the other side of the board and gently took away Atem's crown.

White took a corner.

"Follow your heart all the days of your life," Jii-chan's voice said. Yuugi knew the words; they were from the Instructions of Ptahhotep. Atem had quoted one of the maxims to Yuugi once.

Atem moved again.

"God me."

Yuugi gave him a _look_ - Atem did occasionally like to mess with the rules just to keep things interesting, but this was getting ridiculous – and then slid the God Pyramid over Atem's head. He set it in the middle of the space encircled by the crown.

White moved again.

"What's something you can show, but not see?" said Jounouchi's voice.

_There are a lot of things like that, actually._

Atem took three turns, white unable to play, and this time Yuugi heard a short conversation instead of disconnected statements – a younger version of Mahado's voice at beginning and end, and in the middle a voice Yuugi had only ever heard when he was an amiable interloper in Mahado's mind. This voice, deep and mature and scholarly, belonged to a dead man – but somehow, Yuugi wasn't bothered. It was right that the voice should speak.

"Well, I suppose it worked for the Greeks."

"The Greeks tell of women, Mahado."

"Same thing, really."

Yuugi snorted aloud. Atem looked up at him and smiled as white moved at last. Atem parried the play easily.

"King me," he said again, and Yuugi reached out to release the wires on his earrings. Two puddles of gold formed in his cupped hands, and these he put to either side of the Pyramid as white played and Atem moved again.

"The one who completes me will inherit the powers of darkness," Atem said, and Yuugi nodded.

"I know."

Yuugi went to the door, the doorknob crooked under his hand, and pulled it open. Outside he could see the game shop, snow dusting the roof and the bare branches of the cherry tree, blanketing the small patch of lawn. He was startled to realise that if he looked closely in the upper window by the cherry tree he could see his own face, pale and young and dreamy, looking out at the falling snow. Yuugi knew instantly what it was: the first Christmas he and Atem had shared, when Atem had still been "mou hitori no boku" instead of the pharaoh of Egypt. If he stayed here awhile, he'd see Anzu and Honda and Jounouchi going into the shop through the back, on their way upstairs to have a small Christmas party.

Atem spoke from behind him.

"Don't you want to play, little Aibou?"

No, Yuugi did not want to play; Yuugi wanted to watch this memory through to the end, as far as he could, because it was a time and place he knew he'd likely never see again. But the shop faded, and Yuugi understood: it was time to stop living for the future that was really his past. He wasn't going back, and it was time he came to accept it fully – to abandon the hope he still held in the very farthest back corner of his mind. He would carry Jii-chan and his friends in his heart forever, but the likelihood of ever seeing them again in the flesh was practically nil. Yuugi turned away from the door. It wasn't the way he'd imagined his life going, but he supposed he could live with that. It hurt – oh, there was no denying that he would always ache to talk to them again, hug them, ditch homework with them, tell jokes with them, just sit with them – but he could live with hurt. He sat down across from Atem, the gameboard between them.

"What are we playing?"

Atem leaned forward and pulled Yuugi close. Yuugi slipped onto his hands and knees to move and bridge the space between them, put one hand on Atem's shoulder, tilted his head, and pressed his lips against the pair in front of him.

_I think I like this game._

* * *

"Little Aibou?" The hand on Yuugi's shoulder was gentle, a concerned caress.

"Nnnnn."

"Little Aibou, are you all right?"

Yuugi sat up unsteadily. His face was wet, and he reached up to brush away tears he'd cried in his sleep. He nodded.

"Why do you weep, little Aibou?"

Yuugi rubbed his other cheek with the heel of his hand. "Just dreaming. It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Of what did you dream?"

"Home," Yuugi answered. There was no reason to not be honest. "My friends."

Atem pulled him into a tight hug and stroked his hair. Yuugi hugged back. Already the dream, like so many things about life in Domino, was fading. Yuugi let it slip away from him. Trying to hold on to it would be like trying to hold water, and it would only make him even more upset when the images left him for good.

"Someday perhaps you should tell me about the friends your heart carries, little Aibou."

Yuugi smiled against Atem's shoulder. Yes – he liked that idea. He could keep their memories alive in his heart and his words both, and maybe they wouldn't slip so far. He could tell about Jii-chan and Jounouchi and Bakura Ryou, Anzu and Honda and Otogi, and even Kaiba, too, why not? They weren't friends, but they'd learned to work together when they had to. Atem, he was sure, would like that story: two rivals coming together and tag-teaming each other to take care of someone who didn't believe in fair play. And then there were late night gatherings with Anzu and Honda and Jounouchi, onigiri and movies and once in awhile they even got a little studying done; and Ryou and Otogi, never quite as close but friends all the same, and the many, many kinds of games they'd played. There were long afternoons in the park and He could tell Atem about those things and cherish their memories even as he accepted fully that his life was here now, in Egypt, at Atem's side. Atem ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair one last time.

"It's the weekend, little Aibou – have you time for a visit, or have you things of your own to take care of?"

Yuugi shrugged. "I'm all yours."

Atem smiled that sunny new grin. "I sincerely hope so. But – "

"Um. I mean I don't have anything to do. I'm yours that way, too," he said, his smile not quite as set as it might have been at other times but solid all the same. "But – that's not what I actually meant."

"Is this another of your expressions, little Aibou?"

For a moment Yuugi was at a loss. Then he remembered the many things he'd said that he'd had to explain to Atem - _knock yourself out_ and _it can mess with your head_ and the ever popular _if he lays a big one on you_ - and understood.

"Yeah. It – well, it's hard to explain. But basically it's when you're agreeing to go somewhere or do something with someone."

"Ah." Atem pulled away with one last caress. "Then perhaps you should dress, and then we can eat and go see Mahado. He's up and about already, the fool."

Yuugi heard the affectionate tone through Atem's words, and fought a grin. He wondered how many of Mahado's former students called him names without meaning any real harm. Yuugi reached for the wrap lying discarded by the side of the bed. Neither of them had bothered folding it, and Yuugi had to turn it around and about to find the ties. He slid his feet into his sandals and followed Atem to the kitchens, where they found Mana holding an animated conversation with Hebony.

"Mana!"

Mana's shoulders slumped. "Uh-oh."

Karim appeared through a door. "I think I begin to understand why Mahado says you're enough trouble without knowing spatial magics. Come. Didn't I set you a task to complete?"

"But runes are _boring_!" Mana protested. Yuugi covered his mouth with his hand. Atem stifled a chuckle. Karim put a firm hand on Mana's shoulder.

"Boring or not, your master requested I begin them with you, and I see no good reason to not comply with his wishes. Now go. You have work to finish." He steered Mana toward the door. Mana shuffled her feet and protested in a tone that was not quite a whine. Atem turned on her the same kind of glance he'd once turned on Merishu.

"Mana, Mahado wouldn't be pleased to hear you're neglecting your work."

Mana sighed, but trudged out. Yuugi didn't have to follow her to the door to know she was on her way back to the complex, where she would do exactly as she'd been asked. With Mana, the magic word was neither "please" nor "pharaoh" but Mahado's name, and the imminent threat of disappointing him was motivation enough for her. Karim sat down on a stack of mats with a sigh.

"I don't know how he does it. I really don't."

"How he deals with Mana, you mean?"

Karim's head jerked up. Yuugi saw a wary kind of deference in his eyes.

_Come on. Don't be lame. It won't hurt you to be civil to him._

Karim's eyes flickered toward Yuugi, then back. The wariness in his eyes melted. "Something along that line, yes."

Yuugi breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.

Atem shrugged. "He has a way with willful students, I suppose. She doesn't mean any harm."

"Still, I don't envy him his work. It makes me regret the times I didn't put in the effort on my lines."

"I'm sure you were less of a trial than I was. Have you any idea when he plans to return to her instruction?"

"Next week, if no unimaginable crisis occurs between now and then."

Yuugi remembered Jii-chan's old maxim - _Never paint devils on the wall _- and hoped Karim hadn't just jinxed himself and Mahado both.

* * *

"Here, lord."

"Thank you." Mahado nodded to the girl who'd brought their drink. Yuugi looked warily at the substance in the bowl, and then sipped it. It tasted something like wine with pomegranates in. Yuugi wished he could remember whether or not the Egyptians had made wine flavoured with pomegranate seeds.

"How are things going out here?" Atem had none of Yuugi's reservations about the mystery beverage; he took a perfectly normal-sized drink of his own and set the bowl down. "I can't say I'd want to be out here, were I you."

Mahado shrugged his good shoulder. "The servants took care of everything. The library's shut up for now." He sighed. "I know he must have been controlled, but I wish I only knew what he was doing there in the first place. It's not as though there's much of value in it. All the scrolls are copies – readily available, for the most part – and for the rest, there's naught you couldn't purchase in a single trip through the marketplace."

"More arsenic, maybe?" Yuugi suggested. "I mean, not that I've ever tried to kill anybody, but if I _wanted_ to – enough to actually try it, I mean – I wouldn't stop trying just because bad luck made me fail once. I mean, I guess I wouldn't. I'm probably not the best person to ask about stuff like that."

Mahado nodded slowly. "It's a reasonable enough supposition. I've never seen reason to keep it separated from the other metals I keep – although of course it's contained. Leaving a poisonous powder lying about mixed with copper shavings simply didn't seem the best idea." He took a thoughtful sip of his own wine. "I wish I could remember if he'd said anything to me – before – "

Mahado shook his head and lowered his eyes to the table. Atem put a hand on his shoulder. He'd spoken with Mahado about the horrible thing that had transpired in the library the day Mahado was attacked – but, he'd told Yuugi, it was useless. Mahado remembered walking in and finding Madu rummaging in one of the cupboards, and telling him to get away from it – and then there was no memory but a hot pain in his shoulder and a choked shout, likely Madu's death-cry. The rest of the memory was burned a bright red, like film left in the sun. Yuugi was disappointed, but not entirely surprised. He'd taken a basic psychology elective just for fun when he was still in Domino, and he knew the mind had a way of blocking out things that were simply too much to deal with.

Mahado sighed and drained his bowl. "I think I begin to understand why the first thing you did was ask for information when you returned to the throne after you'd taken ill. It's more than a little irksome to not remember anything about the past week, except for things you know can't be true."

Atem shrugged. "There's not much to tell, really. You spent the first few days unconscious, and the next few delirious. I learned rather a fair amount about mixing a cure for drunkenness just listening to you."

Mahado let out a small and tired chuckle. "Must have been amusing."

"That's one way to put it," Yuugi mumbled. He thought he'd said it under his breath, but it must have come out louder than he'd planned, because Mahado's head snapped toward him.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Aibou?"

Yuugi had a very bad moment before coming up with an excuse he hoped would sound at least somewhat plausible. "I don't think you called me by the same name twice the entire time. I never knew I looked like so many people all at once."

Mahado's face paled, but he said nothing definite. "Ah."

Atem peered at him, concerned. "Are you quite all right?"

"Fine. A bit tired, I'll confess."

"Perhaps we should let you rest, then."

"I'll be all right."

"I won't keep you from taking your rest, Mahado. You're not fully recovered yet, whatever you'd like me to think."

Mahado shrugged. Atem got to his feet. Yuugi followed. They said their goodbyes and left the complex. Yuugi waited only until they were just out of earshot before speaking.

"It wasn't something I said, was it? I didn't say anything about when he – "

Atem shook his head. "I think he may have guessed it all the same, although you had no way of knowing he would. He has some memories of the past week, albeit hazy ones, and he may have put the two together. He's got the mind for it." Atem sighed. "Or perhaps he doesn't remember it, but only fears what he may have said to you. In any case, I thought it best to let him keep his own counsel for yet awhile, and hence our departure."

They walked a way in silence.

"Do you remember, little Aibou, when you asked me to tell you about myself, and I told you I wished to continue my father's dream – to make this a happy land, and peaceful?"

Yuugi nodded. "Yeah."

"I think perhaps I omitted something when I told you such. It's not only peace I seek, but a time when no man should have to fear because of his origins, or appearances, or because he doesn't love like other men."

"Women too?" Yuugi couldn't help asking, and Atem nodded.

"Women, too. All my people, from oldest to youngest, vizier to fisherman."

"I like that dream." It was the truth; the fact that three thousand years would not be enough to make it come true didn't keep Yuugi from saying so.

"As do I. I only wish I could have made it so before those I care for became so entrenched in fear that nothing will set them free."

"Maybe something still will, someday. I mean, you're doing pretty good so far."

Atem smiled. "I like to think so, little Aibou. I do like to think so."

* * *

_Over . . . under . . . and through._ Yuugi smiled. Cat's cradle took a fair amount of concentration, and he'd started to be afraid he'd forgotten some of it. It was the most pointless game in the entire universe, but Yuugi was quite all right with that; it was also a piece of home.

_Over . . . under . . . and through._ He wondered what Atem would make of it; it would be something to occupy him while Yuugi worked on his next big project, which was getting wood and paint enough to make Atem a set of Mahjongg tiles for New Year. Even Yuugi's love of Mahjongg was not enough to help him remember what the Chinese symbols were, but Jii-chan had had a set of tiles in kanji, and Yuugi thought kanji would work well enough.

Yuugi heard voices outside his window.

He disentangled his fingers from the yarn and climbed up on the shelf. Atem was in the back courtyard, and unless Yuugi had gone completely blind, Mahado was with him. They were sitting on one of the benches, a little closer together than Yuugi would have liked – probably to compensate for the seat's lack of length, Yuugi had to admit. It really wasn't made for two people. Mahado was shaking his head. Yuugi wished he knew what they were talking about. Atem put a hand on Mahado's shoulder. Mahado pulled away. Yuugi's eyes widened. He still couldn't make out words, but it seemed clear enough what was going on: Mahado knew that Atem knew. Yuugi wished he could offer a hug, a gesture, anything to make it clear he didn't care which side of the fence Mahado was sitting on.

Eventually Atem gave up and headed back inside. Mahado continued to sit. Eventually he got up and followed. Yuugi climbed down from the shelf. He no longer had any taste for cat's cradle, or figuring out how much sweet-talking he'd have to do to convince Set to get him some more cedar. He wanted to know what had just transpired right outside his window, and why Mahado had pulled away when only two weeks ago he would have accepted Atem's touch with absolutely no objections whatsoever. He wanted to know what was going on.

He wanted to be sure that Mahado's still being alive was enough to keep things from going completely to hell.

* * *

"Now we've quite finished with _that_," Atem said, his voice not at all hiding how disgusted he was with having to oversee grain-yield reports when looking through them was Shada's job, "advisor Mahado mentioned to me yesterday, privately, that he had a proposal to put to us this afternoon." He twisted to motion Mahado to a speaking position. Yuugi bit his lip. This, he felt sure, was probably what Atem and Mahado had been discussing in the courtyard the day before.

"You're all aware of what happened in my quarters recently," Mahado began, sounding pained just having to say it. "There was a fair amount of damage done – none of it irreparable, thankfully – but some of that damage compounded an earlier problem. A scroll I copied and translated from the library at the Nubian palace was damaged in the struggle, and though it's not a necessary text, it's rather a useful one – one I'd like to replace, given the chance. Given the current tensions between Nubia and our own country, I think it perhaps wise to extend an offer of friendship – and given that I'd have business there anyway, I propose to travel to the Nubian capital in a post of diplomacy."

Yuugi shot a dismayed glance in Atem's direction. Anything at all could happen on the road between Egypt and Nubia, and once Mahado – half-Nubian himself – was in the capital, the Nubian king might just decide to keep him there. Set raised the point.

"I've already thought of that," Mahado answered. "The risk is no less for any one of us, and I wouldn't be able to leave straightaway anyway. If I've done my times right, there should be a Nubian jewel caravan coming back from the Delta in a few weeks, shouldn't there?"

"Three," Shada agreed. "The one you're thinking of is headed by Kasim."

"I thought as much. Unless he finds reason to object – and I can't see why he would – I propose to join up with the caravan when it leaves Memphis and travel with it to the Nubian capital. Even if he's not ready to depart again by the time I'm ready to leave, I can always join up with another to return."

Yuugi listened, his heart sinking slowly out of place and down into his feet, as the council discussed and then approved Mahado's proposal. The talk went on well past sundown, discussions of gifts and ceremony being deemed more important than a normal schedule. At last Atem raised his hands.

"Enough. We can discuss more of this tomorrow."

Yuugi hurried to precede Atem to his room. He'd just got past and into the first long corridor when Atem hailed him.

"You're certainly in a hurry."

"I'm supposed to be waiting for you so you can wash up for dinner, remember?"

"I won't complain that you're tardy if only you'll walk with me."

The words were voiced as a request, structured like a request, and could doubtless be turned down like a request, but Yuugi knew he'd do better to treat them as an order.

"Okay." He fell into step by Atem's side. Atem reached for Yuugi's hand and twined their fingers together.

"Something troubles you, little Aibou."

"Yeah." Yuugi knew there was no point in denying it; Jii-chan had told him once that he wished he could find a book as easy to read as Yuugi's face. Atem squeezed Yuugi's hand. Yuugi squeezed back.

"What is it, then?"

Yuugi stopped walking. Atem also stopped. "Why couldn't you stop him? There's no way he's going to be healed in three weeks, and you're just letting him run away to – "

Atem held up a hand to hush him. "It was the best I could get from him, little Aibou. He wanted to resign his place and leave altogether."

Yuugi felt his mouth fall open. "But – why? Why would he - ?"

Atem sighed. "Fear, little Aibou. It's truly that simple. He's afraid. Not so much for himself, I don't think, but certainly for Mana. If he were to fall under my punishment – which I sincerely doubt he ever would, but he clearly feels differently – he has no way of knowing I'd make good on my promise to ensure her place here." He began to walk again, and Yuugi followed.

"What, does he think you'd send her back to her parents or something?"

Atem shook his head. "She has no parents. He found her scavenging a garbage heap outside town a few years ago and brought her back here. I think perhaps he fears falling under my reprisal, and my having her cast back out to take care of herself. It's ridiculous, of course – I've counted her my sister since the day she came under our protection – but emotion is rarely logical, and fear the least logical of all. Were he to leave by choice he could take her with him – I'm not sure she's entirely aware of the fact, but he did adopt her to be absolutely certain he could keep her here."

Yuugi thought of the old cliché from his own time – the grubby little boy with a puppy tagging along, please, Mum, can I keep him? – but said nothing of the kind. Instead he addressed what was, he thought, a bigger issue.

"So to keep her safe he's running away to Nubia?"

Atem shook his head. "When he discussed it with me yesterday I promised to keep her here – under Karim's tutelage, if he concurs – while Mahado travels, and he's perfectly aware that she's completely safe while he travels from here to Nubia and back. She'll be treated as any other palace student with a master away on business. I think perhaps he simply needs time away – you could call it a working holiday, if you like – to clear his head and allow himself to realise fully that I have absolutely no intention of getting rid of my most trusted advisor simply because he – like me – doesn't love like other men."

"Yeah, because you're totally in the hypocrite business," Yuugi said, and he meant the sarcasm with all his heart. Atem was many things, not all of them nice, but hypocritical he was not. Atem's chuckle was sad.

"I don't think such has occurred to him yet."

"Wait. So he tries to seduce you, and when that falls through, he decides his life is over if you ever find out he's – you know – " Yuugi stopped, frustrated, and wished not for the first time that there was an ancient equivalent of "gay."

"A man-lover?"

"Sure. That. Anyway, that makes absolutely no sense."

Atem shrugged. "I think perhaps he feels it audacious to have developed feelings for me. Had I returned his advances – slight though they were – things would, I think, have been quite different. In any case, I trust Kasim to ensure Mahado reaches the Nubian capital safely, and once he's there I'm confident he can take care of himself. He's been there before on business, after all."

"I just have this really bad feeling about it." Yuugi pushed open Atem's door. Atem promptly swept him into a hug.

"I think you have little to fear. He'll likely take nothing of value, except of course whatever gifts we decide to send. They'd hardly have reason to detain him, unless they decide they want to unseat his brother and crown Mahado in his place – and that's hardly likely. Most of the folk he grew up with will be long in their graves by now, and those remaining likely won't even know who he is."

Yuugi nodded. He was still dissatisfied.

* * *

"Who knocks?"

Yuugi pulled Atem's cloak tighter around his shoulders. It never rained in Egypt, but the night gave the effect of being wet and blustery all the same.

"Just me."

Yuugi heard a step that was not much like Mahado's normal gait at all, and then the door was opened. There was a brief pause while he registered that it was Yuugi and not Atem standing outside his door, and then he motioned Yuugi in. Yuugi didn't fail to notice the way Mahado rubbed absently at his hip as he limped back across the floor and waved Yuugi to a bench. Yuugi wondered whether it was arthritis or scar-pain making him walk that way.

"And what brings you here at this time of night, Aibou?"

Yuugi folded Atem's cloak over his arm and sat down. "This is going to sound really stupid, but I was wondering if there was somebody who could go to Nubia for you. Instead of you going, I mean."

"Not likely. It's going to take someone fluent in Nubian to deal with the king, and the idea of someone copying a scroll blind makes me shiver. Only the gods know what kind of spells could be cast that way." He scrutinised Yuugi carefully. "Why do you ask?"

Yuugi blushed. He'd been afraid he might be asked that.

"It's kind of – okay, no, actually, it's _really_ hard to explain. I just – do you believe in intuition?"

"Very strongly so, yes."

"Well, I just have this feeling like maybe you shouldn't go. Like you're going to be needed here." Yuugi knew he might be signing Mahado's death warrant with his next words, and said them anyway. "Like Atem's going to need you."

"The Nubian capital's not a far ride from here, Aibou. Were I needed I could take a horse and be here in four days."

"Four days might be too long."

"I'd hardly leave him unprotected," Mahado said. "If it's that you fear, you can rest easy. He'll still be practically untouchable."

Yuugi shrugged. "It's just a feeling, I guess. Maybe you shouldn't pay any attention to it."

Mahado put a hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "You shouldn't sell a shekel's worth for half, Aibou. If you truly feel so, I'll keep alert for news while I'm away."

Yuugi nodded. Mahado squeezed the shoulder his hand rested on. "Do you want something to drink after that walk?"

Yuugi nodded. "That'd be great." He put his own hand on Mahado's shoulder to hold him back. "Do you want me to get it? I think I know where everything is – from when I was out here before."

Mahado sank back without protest. "If you'd care to be so good, I certainly won't try to stop you."

Yuugi nodded and headed back to the small pantry Mahado kept just beyond the bedrooms. Mana was curled up on the bed in the room Yuugi had pegged as hers. A rag doll was tucked under her arm. Yuugi smiled at her as he passed.

There was no beer in Mahado's pantry – Yuugi saw a basket that looked like it should contain bottles, but it was empty – and so instead he took a bottle of wine and poured a bowl and a half. Beer was easy to get, wine markedly less so, and he wasn't going to waste any when he knew he'd never be able to drink a full bowl. He closed the door carefully with his foot and headed back to the front. Mahado's smile was tired, and Yuugi found himself wondering just what exactly had happened to put that large mass of scar tissue on Mahado's hip. Yuugi couldn't help himself.

"Are you okay?"

Mahado sighed, nodded, took a bowl from Yuugi's hands, and sipped it. "It's an old injury – mostly benign, but I'm afraid it's starting to give me problems. It's the price we all pay for age, in the end."

"Are you going to be okay riding all the way to Nubia?"

The smile on Mahado's lips was humourless, but not angry. "You won't give up, will you?"

"I'm serious. If you fall off a horse and get trampled to death, Atem's going to kill you."

Mahado started laughing – quietly, to keep from waking Mana, Yuugi thought. "It's not so hard to ride. It's only the cold that gives me trouble, and I've already taken my precautions against that."

Yuugi took a sip from his own bowl and wished yet again that he had some idea what Mahado put in his drink. It had only the most superficial resemblance to straight wine; it was far sweeter, and Yuugi could taste both honey and pomegranates in it. There was also a hint of some kind of spice he was at a loss to name.

"Can I ask you something? Not about your leg."

"Go ahead."

"Why haven't you asked yet what I'm doing here?"

Mahado chuckled. Then he gestured to the cloak Yuugi had draped over the end of the bench. "It's his. You don't strike me as the type foolhardy enough to take the pharaoh's clothes without permission."

"Oh." Yuugi supposed that made sense. "What's going to happen to the Ring while you're gone?"

"The Ring will remain here. Carrying it into a foreign land, even one where I'm at least marginally welcome, would be absolute madness. If Atem chooses to not find a temporary Bearer, then I'll hide it and cast on it."

Yuugi held his hands up. "Don't look at me. I already did my time."

Mahado chuckled again. This time it was tired. "Yes, I'd noticed. Is it always how the men of your land dress?"

"Huh?"

"When you put on the Ring, I found myself in your memories. You were talking to a boy with brown hair, and he was wearing the most ridiculous clothes I've seen in my life."

"Oh. No, not everybody. Honda's got this really ugly _jacket_, that's kind of like a cloak with sleeves, that he – "

"I don't think this was him. Honda's the one who sat in front of you during lessons, was he not?"

Yuugi nodded. "That's him."

"That wasn't this boy. You couldn't possibly mistake him. Brown hair, blue eyes, quite tall – what you might call attractive, I suppose, if your tastes run to that sort of man. He would have looked a fair bit like Set if his skin weren't so light. I got the impression he might be royalty."

"_Kaiba?_" Yuugi tried to remember any of the handful of occasions when he'd talked to Kaiba without having cards in his hand. The memories were dim at best; Kaiba had not been one of the people whose images he'd fought to hold on to. "He's not royalty, he's just really rich. And even I think he looks ridiculous most of the time, and that's probably saying something."

Mahado raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps we're still thinking of two different people, then."

_Wait a minute. Just how far back did you go? Was this his first day of school?_

"Well, I thought he had a nice smile until he tried to kill my grandfather. And me. It's kind of hard to think somebody's got a nice smile when you know it probably means they're plotting slow and painful death for somebody," Yuugi elaborated. "I guess it depends on whether what you saw was before or after that."

"Understandably so. It was only the resemblance that caught my attention."

Yuugi resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows. _You're threatening me. You're actually threatening me to make sure I don't out you. Seriously, I thought we had more respect for each other than that._

"Yeah, if you'd seen me in a mirror you might not have known you were looking at me at all. I think that's what that one soldier meant when he said I looked like I was mocking the pharaoh. I used to wear my hair that way, before they shaved my head. And I was about the same size. It was kind of weird when I got here and saw him, actually." _Although maybe not for the reasons you think._

"Ah." Yuugi heard a small amount of bewilderment in the tone. Of course – these people had never heard of bleach and henna. Even were Mahado to try forming a picture of Yuugi with straight, styled hair, he'd probably still see it as all black. "Strange."

"Yeah, it is. Maybe there's groups of people all over the world who look like each other."

Mahado chuckled. "Well, they do say every man has a twin somewhere."

Yuugi finished his wine. "I guess I should probably go back. Atem's probably going to be going to bed soon, and I don't want to bother him when I come in."

Mahado smiled that strained, tired smile again and got to his feet very slowly indeed.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay to ride?"

Mahado nodded. "It's at its worst in the evenings, and by the time it becomes a problem we'll be stopped already." He saw Yuugi to the door and squeezed his shoulder.

"I think I needn't worry much about him while I'm gone," he said. "After all, he does have you."

"Take care of yourself."

"I will."

"And send word if you need anything."

"Of course."

"Make sure you let me know what the king has to say."

Mahado chuckled. "Pharaoh, do you have any idea how many times I've done this before?"

Yuugi watched Atem throw his arms around Mahado's shoulders, a hug both tight and full-hearted. "I wish you didn't have to go."

Mahado hugged back, but there was something in the embrace, hesitant and reluctant, that made Yuugi feel like crying. He wondered if turning his back would change anything.

_You know something,_ he thought, hoping with everything in him that through some chance Mahado might hear him, _I really don't mind._

He didn't know if Mahado heard the thought or not, but Yuugi saw Mahado's arms tighten around Atem's shoulders all the same. Then he pulled away.

"It's time I'm off."

Atem nodded to Kasim, the man in charge of the caravan, and took the reins of Mahado's horse to steady her.

"Easy, now," Yuugi heard him murmur as Mahado swung himself up. Yuugi was watching for it, but saw no sign of pain on Mahado's face. He turned around, cool grey eyes meeting dark red, and flicked his hair out of his face.

"Until we see each other again."

Atem reached up to clasp Mahado's hand. Yuugi watched as a second pair of grey eyes observed them and wondered how many Nubians had grey eyes.

"Take care of yourself."

Mahado smiled. "You already said that, Pharaoh."

"I suppose I'm only reluctant to see you go. When will you return?"

"Soon enough, I'm sure." He nodded down to Atem, who stepped away. Yuugi caught Mahado's face in the instant before he turned away and wondered if he was seeing what he thought he was seeing, or if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Kasim clucked to his own horse, and Yuugi stood by Atem and watched them go, on their way to the rest of the men they'd be riding with. Atem sighed.

"And I suppose that's that."

Yuugi squeezed his hand. Atem pulled him into a tight hug. Yuugi rubbed his back.

"It's going to be okay, you know."

"Perhaps." A pause. "I hope."

"Well, you said he can take care of himself, and you trust Kasim, right?"

"I do, yes." Atem pulled away at last and wound an arm around Yuugi's waist. "Let's get away from here, little Aibou."

Yuugi led Atem back into the palace. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Kasim."

"What of him?"

"Have you ever noticed he and Mahado have the same eyes?"

"As well as the same hands and jawline. It hadn't escaped my attention, no. If you want to know what I make of it, I can only tell you that Kasim is related to the royal Nubian house, so if Mahado's correct about his own parentage, there may be nothing much in it but coincidence. If you're thinking what I think you may be thinking – "

"Kasim's in his, what, early forties? That's about the same time Mahado got here. And you said he was running away because he got in trouble over a girl. It fits."

"I concur, little Aibou, but there's no way to prove such."

_Actually, there is. It's called DNA paternity testing and they'll invent it sometime in nineteen-hundred-and-something. What you mean is, there's no way to prove it _yet._ You just don't know that._

"I wonder if Mahado knows."

"I daresay even Mahado can't know for certain. I believe he may suspect it, as I do." Atem turned at the door to look back at the place Mahado and Kasim had disappeared from. Even their dust trails were gone. He sighed.

"May the gods grant he find the answers he seeks."

"I'm not so worried about his answers. I'm worried about you."

Atem chuckled. "I'll be all right, little Aibou. I'll miss him dearly, but it's no great matter. After all, he'll return to us soon enough."

"I'm more worried about what's going to happen to you while he's gone."

"Set and Ankhnadin are still here. You've nothing to fear."

_It's _because_ Ankhnadin's here that I've got something to be afraid of,_ Yuugi thought sourly. Atem glanced at him, stopped, caressed Yuugi's face.

"Don't look so, little Aibou. We've the protection of most of the council, and if you're still dissatisfied, consider the gods who surround us on every side. No harm they don't will can come to us."

Yuugi pressed into Atem's side.

"I hope you're right. I've had enough excitement for awhile, I think."

As it turned out Yuugi would have plenty of excitement before Mahado returned, but it didn't bother him in the least.

* * *

Atem stretched.

"Someone bring a gameboard." He flicked his eyes toward Yuugi. "Aibou. Fetch something."

Yuugi nodded and bowed. "What would you play, Great Pharaoh?" After all this time the formal speech appropriate to the throne room still sounded weird to him when it came out of his own mouth, but saying "what do you want to do?" would probably get him dragged out by the scruff of his neck to be whipped. Set wouldn't put up with that kind of thing being addressed to Atem in public. The edge of Atem's mouth quirked.

"Bring me the Reversi board."

Yuugi nodded and bowed again and headed for the door. He was almost out when he heard heavy footsteps. He paused, turned to the throne.

_Hey Great Pharaoh! Are there supposed to be watchguards tramping around the palace right now?_

Atem raised his hand and beckoned Yuugi back. "Is there a problem, slave Aibou?"

"Guards in the hallway, Great Pharaoh. I could hear them."

Atem's brow furrowed. "Strange. Siamun, Ankhnadin – "

The pair left their places and hurried out the door. Atem waved Yuugi back to his accustomed place. Siamun was the first back in the room, and he was beaming.

"Good news, Great Pharaoh. Excellent news, brought to us from Ophir."

Atem sat up straighter and leaned forward. "Ophir?"

Yuugi raised his eyes to the group that was coming in at the far end of the room. The guards were unfamiliar, and walking with them were four men in waist-wraps of a foreign fashion. The answer came to Yuugi suddenly, and he smiled. Atem waited, a perfect picture of dignity, for the men to present themselves at the throne. Yuugi knew instantly that they were guests, not captives; none of them were forced to their knees, and when one of them – clearly still recovering from some dire ordeal – lost his balance, a guard steadied him with a friendly hand.

These were the arrested men from the Ophir village.

Their tale was simple enough to tell; one of them had died in the prisons below the palace at the Ophir capital, and another had perished in the trek across the desert. The fate of the first man's body was unknown, for he'd been carried from his cell by guards and not seen again, but the second they'd buried in the ancient tombs near their ruined village. They'd been set free after an indeterminate amount of time when a frightened group of soldiers had returned from a trip to the Egyptian capital, telling a wild story of a captain killed by magic and an imbecile slave, favourite of the pharaoh, who had threatened the second-in-command with a weapon they all believed to be potentially fatal. The king had outfitted the five remaining men for a journey and told them all that they were free to go on the condition that they traveled to the throne at Egypt, and never returned to plague his land again.

They'd stopped only once, to rest and see if they could salvage anything from their old village, and then they'd set off again. The guards with them were from several towns away; those at the border had been reluctant to let them enter the country in spite of their lack of numbers, and so they'd been traveling in the company of soldiers ever since entering Egypt.

Atem listened to this story thoughtfully and then turned to Set. "Have we any way to track down their families?"

Set shrugged. "I wouldn't be the one to ask, truly. It was Shada who handled the integration."

Atem nodded and turned in the other direction. "Shada?"

Shada looked thoughtful. "One of the women was a skilled weaver. I imagine it wouldn't be hard to find her, and she in turn could likely lead us to the others."

Atem nodded and motioned Shada away. "Give orders. I want it done as quickly as possible – have them brought here tomorrow, if you can."

Shada nodded and slipped out. Atem returned his gaze to the men in front of him. One of the men he addressed by a name Yuugi could never have even hoped to pronounce, and the man returned his greeting in fluent hieratic. Yuugi's eyebrows went up. Then he remembered the woman who had translated for the villagers, the one with a trader for a husband. This, he thought, must be the husband. Yuugi tuned out of their conversation; it was little more than small talk, really, and most of it about things Yuugi didn't understand. Eventually Atem stopped the chat to make arrangements for the men to eat and sleep. He dismissed the court. Yuugi followed him out, as usual, and then Atem turned around and hugged Yuugi so fiercely that for just a moment Yuugi was left breathless – Atem had a somewhat undesirable talent for throwing his arms around precisely the spot that made it impossible to breathe when squeezed.

Atem buried his face in Yuugi's shoulder. His shoulders hitched. Yuugi thought first that Atem was crying, and then the absence of tears against his bare shoulder told him better.

Atem was laughing.

At last his laughter – of the breathless and giddy type Yuugi associated with Anzu and fast roller coasters – played itself out, and he pulled his face away from Yuugi's shoulder, still chuckling.

"Didn't I tell you, little Aibou? Trust in the gods – always. All comes right in the end."

"Yeah, you did say something about that." Yuugi grinned at him. Atem grinned back. Then he pulled Yuugi close and tilted his chin with one hand. Yuugi kissed back enthusiastically, keeping it in one corner of his mind that they were still in the hallway and were going to have to behave at least to some extent. Atem must have been thinking the same thing, because at last he pulled away and stroked the side of Yuugi's face.

"We should retire. I must confess I'm more than quite ready to eat."

Yuugi led Atem up to his room to wash up and prepare for dinner. Atem motioned Yuugi closer to his dressing table. Yuugi went willingly, but not without being the slightest bit wary; Atem was in one of the moods Yuugi had learned to associate with Atem's being more than a little over-playful. Atem beckoned Yuugi closer, to whisper to him. Yuugi put one hand on Atem's shoulder, one on the bench, and leaned. Atem's lips touched the cup of his ear.

"If you'd dress and join me, I'd be obliged."

Yuugi nodded, turned his head for another quick kiss, and left for his room. It had been a long time since he and Atem had had anything approaching a formal dinner together, and Yuugi washed up with more than a little excitement. He liked his meals with Atem; they were one of the world's finer simple pleasures, made all the sweeter by not being in a fancy restaurant with a Western cutlery setting and candles. There was something about the simplicity of clay plates on a reed mat that appealed to him.

He met up with Atem in the hallway, hair brushed, eyes lined, feet slipped into the handsome leather sandals Atem had procured for Yuugi to wear to his birthday dinner. And then, of course, there was the jade bracelet fastened neatly around his wrist, and the tunic from his basket. Atem smiled at him and took Yuugi's hand. Yuugi smiled back. He liked having a partner who was perfectly all right with his usually being dusty and a little lopsided in terms of appearance; he also liked having the privilege of dressing up for that partner, if only for a quiet dinner, and having his appearance appreciated. Atem gave him the best of both.

"We'll be dining in the banquet hall, but I'd like you to be my guest this evening."

Yuugi nodded. His stomach gave an unpleasant squirm – the last time he'd eaten in the banquet hall, he'd been carried out of it unconscious and vomiting – but he said nothing. Atem caressed Yuugi's hand with his thumb.

"I asked Isis if she'd be so good as to watch the servants set the tables to avoid problems such as we had before, and she agreed. You've nothing to fear, little Aibou."

Yuugi nodded. That was better. He liked Isis, even if they almost never spoke to each other. She was what Ryou might have called "genuinely all right." Atem raised Yuugi's hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Shall we go?"

Yuugi nodded, and let Atem lead him to the banquet hall.

* * *

The feast – if it could be called that, given the generally informal air – was everything Yuugi had missed at Atem's birthday and more. The dishes were not the fancy metal ones from that day, but Yuugi didn't care; he was perfectly happy with earthenware plates and bowls. The wine that was poured for him was sweet and lightly spiced, the bread and rice served with peas and good meat, and then there was the perk of Yuugi's not having to serve himself. And on top of all were the four men in whose company they sat – tired, travel-stained, doubtless grieving for their companions, but they'd made it to their destination and found homes and hospitality waiting for them. Even Set looked like he might actually break down and smile.

Yuugi basked in the positive feelings from all around. He was more than a little surprised, but still gratified, when Isis actually engaged him in conversation.

And then Atem asked him a question.

Yuugi's insides froze. Atem was one thing, but he was talking about – about – in _public_! For people Yuugi didn't even know! And the court! Yuugi cursed his traitor head for nodding assent. Atem held up a hand.

"My servant Aibou told me a most amusing tale from his land, not so long ago, about how gold came to be beneath the earth. He's agreed to repeat it for us now, as an entertainment."

Yuugi's eyes darted around the group, about fifteen people all staring at him raptly. He could feel panic trying to pry its way into his consciousness.

**Come on. Don't be stupid. You've known this story since you were a baby. Make Atem proud. You can do it – you know you can.**

"Once – " Yuugi said, and took a breath to calm himself. "Once, in a land very far away, there were seven _dragons_ who made the world. The people worshipped dragons, because they were very clever and wise." Yuugi unclasped his bracelet. "The creatures on these beads are the dragons who made the world." And he handed the bracelet to Isis, who examined the beads before passing it on to Set. It made its way through the company as Yuugi told his story.

"Even though the dragons all worked together to make the world, they weren't all friends with each other. In fact, the dragon Hi, who brought fire to the world and made the sun, only really got along with Kami – the greatest dragon-god. That's because Hi was always burning with envy, and he didn't like anybody who didn't take the world as seriously as he did. One day Hi was stalking the land, as usual, but he was in a very bad mood because Mizu, the water-dragon, had tricked him again."

Atem tapped Yuugi's hand and put the bracelet in it. Yuugi fastened it back on.

"So while Hi was stalking, and trying to plot his revenge on Mizu, he came upon Kane, the metal-dragon, laughing and flashing his shiny scales while he played senet with his friends." The original story said Kane was playing Go, but Yuugi wasn't going to try to explain that. "Hi grew angry with Kane. 'Don't you know the world is a serious place?' he roared, and he was so jealous of Kane's pretty metal scales that he decided to teach Kane a lesson by making a fool of him for his vanity. 'Fire is stronger than metal,' Hi growled. 'You should bow down to me.'"

Yuugi shifted to a more comfortable position and continued. "Kane just laughed. 'A sword can pass through fire, can it not?' Kane asked. 'It's true that much fire can make metal grow soft, but it hardens again and can be useful, as before. Fire isn't stronger than metal. We're of equal strength, so let me call you brother and walk with you side by side.' Hi was furious. 'I'll do no such thing,' he said. 'Bow down to me!'"

Yuugi could feel himself warming up to the story. He found he didn't mind telling it so much after all. "Kane refused again, and again Hi shouted that Kane must bow down to him. 'Bow, or face the consequences!' Hi bellowed, and for a third time Kane refused. Hi was absolutely furious. 'You don't know sense,' he said, 'but I'll teach it to you quickly enough.' And he pulled back to scorch Kane with his horrible fire breath. But it just so happened that one of the friends Kane was playing with was Chi, the kind land-dragon. 'Quick!' she said to Kane. 'Lay down, and I'll cover you with my body to protect you. Fire can't harm me.' Kane didn't want to put one of his friends in danger, but he knew Chi was telling the truth, and so as Hi took a breath to breathe his flames, Kane lay down, and Chi covered him. Hi saw how they'd tricked him, and howled in anger, but no matter how hot the flames or how angry his roars, Chi wouldn't move from her place. At last Hi exhausted himself and had to admit defeat, and Kane was safe. And that's why metal is buried in the earth."

Yuugi's audience smiled and commented favourably on Yuugi's storytelling skills. Yuugi sat back with a sigh of relief. Atem smiled at him.

And for just a few moments, the world was perfect.

* * *

Yuugi kicked off his sandals. "Nobody ever told me banquets were that much work."

Atem chuckled and sat down to undress. "Indeed." He began working on his makeup while Yuugi worked the clasps on his shoulderpiece. "You tell a good story, little Aibou."

"Thanks." Yuugi laid the shoulderpiece alongside Atem's belt and reached for the hem of his tunic. "Next time, warn me before you spring something on me like that, would you?"

Atem smiled. "If I'd thought of asking before, I would have."

Yuugi let his hands rest on Atem's bare shoulders. "I should probably go clean up. So this stuff isn't, you know, getting in my eyes while I'm sleeping."

"Stay, little Aibou."

"I can come back," Yuugi answered. "I just need to – "

Atem was shaking his head. He patted the bench.

"You don't care if I'm using your stuff?"

"You remember, little Aibou, when you told me your true and secret name, and granted me the right to use it?"

"Yeah." Yuugi thought about it. "You said you thought you'd rather call me Aibou."

"I said no such thing. I said I felt it to be more appropriate, and there's a great difference."

"Okay, lay it on me."

Atem's brow furrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

Yuugi covered his mouth. "Sorry. Forget that. You said there's a big difference. What is it?"

"Should I assume this is an expression that also means 'continue?'"

"Something like that. I'll explain it later. What's the difference between what you'd rather do, and what you think is appropriate?"

"'Aibou' signifies 'partner,' correct?"

"In Japanese. Yeah."

"And Yuu-gi signifies 'game.'"

"Uh-huh." Yuugi wished he knew where Atem was going with this.

Atem took his washcloth from the basin and squeezed out the water. He held it in his hand.

"Then 'Aibou' is more appropriate than Yuu-gi, because I consider you a partner, someone to be respected – not a game, someone to be toyed with." And he raised the washcloth to Yuugi's face. "I can hardly claim to respect you, to find you as close to an equal as any man could be, and yet deny you such a basic privilege when you've given so freely to me of all you call yours."

Yuugi could feel himself blushing as Atem gently wiped away the kohl, the crushed malachite eyeshadow, the beeswax on his lips. Nor was he ignorant to the significance of what Atem was doing; it was far more than just a casual action, and Yuugi treasured it for the privilege it was.

"Bed?"

Yuugi nodded. "I'm exhausted."

Atem's lips curved in a grin Yuugi knew well, and he shook his head.

"Oh, no. No way. Not tonight."

"Little Aibou, you do me an injustice." Atem put the washcloth by the basin, stood up, bent, and slid an arm under Yuugi's knees.

"There's no way you're going to be able to pick me up. I'm bigger than you."

"We'll see. Put your arms around my neck."

Yuugi complied in spite of his doubts. Yuugi was a little surprised when Atem managed not just to pick him up, but to carry him to the bed and lay him on it.

"That was a great deal more difficult than it had any right to be." Atem slid beneath the covers and pulled Yuugi close. Yuugi was perfectly happy to cuddle against him.

"I told you, I'm bigger than you. Your back's going to kill you tomorrow."

"I'll be quite perfectly all right." And he kissed the side of Yuugi's neck.

They fell asleep that way, a boyish tangle of arms and legs all mixed together in a close embrace.

* * *

"Have we word, Shada?"

"The families will be here just after midday, and Isis has already taken care of getting the menfolk clean clothes and food this morning."

Atem nodded absently. "We have time until then. I trust you ensured they know why they're coming."

"They should, if the one I contacted passed word on properly."

Yuugi sighed and shifted. His night had been full of half-remembered dreams that tried to keep him awake. Some of them, mostly memories of Domino, he understood. Others – like the dream of being chased through the maze from _Alice in Wonderland_ by flying monkeys with giant scissors for arms – he recognised as the kind of garbage his mind produced when he was very, very tired and overstressed. None of them had been horrible, or even actively frightening – he'd actually managed to stop the flying-monkey dream altogether when he hit a dead end by simply turning around and shouting "you're just a pack of cards" – but their combined effect had been one of real restlessness, and Yuugi sincerely hoped he wasn't going to fall asleep where he sat. Even he would not be immune to a disciplinary whipping if he did.

Someone nudged Yuugi in the back, and his head jerked up. One of the other slaves had been kind enough to cuff him on the way out to wake him before he could be discovered. Yuugi wished he knew who it had been. That had been far too close for comfort.

Atem was waiting for him in the hallway.

"You're lucky I don't send you out to be strapped," he said, but there was no real anger in his voice. "You ought not to neglect your duties so."

"I'm sorry. I tried not to, I really did. I don't even remember closing my eyes."

"That's likely because you didn't," Atem said, leading Yuugi through the pathways that bypassed the kitchen and made for their respective rooms. "I don't believe I've ever seen someone sleep with their eyes open before."

Yuugi could feel himself blushing. "I'm really sorry. I really am."

"I trust you'll make good use of the recess, then. We won't be returning to the throne room until midday."

Yuugi nodded gratefully. Even an hour's nap would help.

"What made you so, little Aibou? In all your time with me I must say I've never seen you act such."

Yuugi shrugged. "I kind of had a hard time sleeping last night. I was having all these dreams that kept waking me up."

"Ah." Atem led Yuugi down his corridor. "Then perhaps this is precisely what's in order." And he pushed open the door to Yuugi's room.

Yuugi expected Atem to simply let him in and then go; Atem, after all, had not shared Yuugi's night. And so he was somewhat surprised when Atem first followed him in, and then untied Yuugi's wrap.

"You rest. I'll take care of this."

Had Yuugi been more awake he might have expressed actual shock at Atem's words, but he was too tired to do anything more than nod. And so when Atem guided him to the tick and then pulled down Yuugi's covers, Yuugi simply did as he was told.

* * *

"Little Aibou."

Yuugi sighed and opened his eyes. He could feel fuzzy bed-warmth in his skin, so he'd probably been sleeping, but he didn't even remember lying down. Atem was sitting next to the tick.

"It's perhaps half an hour before I return to the throne. Would you eat?"

Yuugi sat up. The light coverlet Atem had drawn over him fell to his waist. He yawned, and blinked, and Atem smiled at him. Yuugi smiled back.

"You seem quite recovered."

Yuugi nodded. "I feel a lot better."

"Then I think it for the best that we eat and return to the throne. The afternoon's likely to be quite busy."

Yuugi nodded again and swung his legs off the tick. His wrap was draped over Atem's legs. Yuugi took it and tied it. Atem ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair and clipped it back. Yuugi caught his hand on the way down.

"Hey."

"Mmm?"

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what's with all the helping me get dressed and undressed all of a sudden?"

Atem smiled and pulled Yuugi into his arms. He rested his chin on Yuugi's shoulder.

"I spent years doing such for myself, and then you came and began to do it for me. It's true, is it not?"

"Well, yeah, but that's my job."

Atem pressed a kiss to Yuugi's neck. "On the contrary, little Aibou, you go so far above the duties expected of you I keep expecting you to demand some kind of further compensation."

"It's not like you're making me, I don't know . . . " Yuugi tried to think of some kind of ancient equivalent of Jii-chan's favourite labour-centred threat, that of Yuugi having to scrub the staircase with a toothbrush. Given that Yuugi had never misbehaved enough to find out just how hard it would be to scrub the stairs with a toothbrush, he had no idea what a decent comparison would be. At last he gave up. "Okay, I can't think of anything bad enough that you'd have to pay me for it, actually. I already get so much from you. It's really not like I need anything else. Half the time I actually feel like I'm getting off easy."

Atem ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair. "Your duties may be light, but they're still important to me. You receive nothing you've not earned – indeed, it's fair to say you deserve more. And so I repay you however I can, whether in large ways or small." Yuugi could feel Atem's grin. "And besides, who wouldn't want to undress you once they know what lies beneath?"

Yuugi blushed and squirmed his way out of Atem's lap. "Okay, that's enough. You're the one who was saying we have stuff to do this afternoon."

Atem chuckled, stood up, pulled Yuugi to his feet. "True enough, little Aibou. Shall we go?"

"I'm ready when you are."

"Then we're for the kitchens, and the kitchens are for us. Onward."

And they went.

* * *

Yuugi watched, attentive as usual, as Atem talked with the Ophirite men. They mostly seemed to be engaged in small talk, but there was never a bit of Atem's small talk not worth listening to.

At last the doors opened. Yuugi heard a shriek, a single word in a foreign tongue. He didn't need to look very hard to know who it belonged to; the childish, pounding feet hurrying down the throne room were enough to tell him. The little girl with the rag doll had found her father at last. Yuugi watched her bury her head against her father's stomach. The man she'd attached herself to got to one knee and pulled her into a tight hug as husbands and wives were reunited all around them, and Atem beckoned closer the two women with no men to greet them. Yuugi watched as Atem reached for their hands.

"Your grief is my grief," Atem said. "And though it's beyond my power to bring any man back from the dead, I wish you to know – completely, without doubt – that neither of you will be left to beg. You and yours will have homes here, and no man will cast you from this city."

One of the women was crying – had she not been afraid of disrupting the people behind her even now, Yuugi thought she might have wailed. The other looked as though she'd expected nothing more; she had known, Yuugi thought, known somehow that her husband was dead. Maybe she was just in shock, but Yuugi didn't think so. She looked like she'd fully expected it.

She nodded, and turned back toward the happy group behind her. Yuugi saw her in profile, and suddenly he knew her; this was the woman who'd been taking care of the little girl with the rag doll. Her mother was dead – dead on the trail between Ophir and Memphis – and this woman's child had also died. She'd adopted the little girl, an attempt to keep her safe and healthy. Yuugi had the distinct feeling Atem didn't need to worry about her; when the little girl's father was recovered from his trek, when he could support himself and his daughter, he would make sure this woman didn't starve. It was the other one Yuugi was worried about.

Atem stood up, and pulled the second woman into a warm hug. They remained there even after Set and Isis ushered the reunited families out of the throne room, likely to the banquet hall.

"All's well," Yuugi heard Atem murmur. "You grieve, and always will . . . but you live, and have children to carry his face and memory. He'll not be forgotten, and the gods will smile on him."

Yuugi could have told Atem that all words in the world would be only meaningless quack to this woman, who had still been holding out some desperate hope that perhaps her husband would come home. There was no reasoning with grief. At last the woman's sobs quieted to a more rational level – a place where, perhaps, she would be capable of a basic conversation once again – and she let go of Atem's waist abruptly, as though it had just occurred to her that what she was doing could get her killed. Atem put his hand on her shoulder.

"You've nothing to fear," he told her. "I told you I'd ensure your place here, and I mean to keep my word."

The woman nodded. There were still tears running down her face. Atem took her hand.

Yuugi watched him lead her out.

* * *

Atem sighed. Yuugi rubbed his shoulders, trying to be comforting.

"It's not your fault, you know."

"I know that, little Aibou. I know that. I only wish I'd been able to do more for her." Atem leaned into Yuugi's touch.

"She'll be okay, I think. I mean, it'll take awhile, but she'll be okay."

"I wonder."

"What's going to happen to her? I mean, with, you know, having a job and stuff?"

Atem shrugged. "I only wish I knew. She'll remain with the family that took her in, I've little doubt, but I wonder if it's enough."

"Why couldn't you ask her to come here?" Yuugi's thumbs rubbed circles at the base of Atem's neck.

"Never think it. She's a foreigner."

"So what?" Yuugi ran his thumbs down Atem's spine. Atem's back twisted, and Yuugi could feel knots beneath the skin. The afternoon had not been kind to him.

"I'd be asking her to sell herself into slavery because her husband wasn't able to survive the journey to freedom. It's an insult beyond all measure."

"But if she can't afford to take care of herself – "

"Should that time come, I'll see what's to be done." Atem made a noise and pulled away from Yuugi's hands. "Little Aibou, that hurts."

"No kidding. You've got a knot back here the size of my fist. If I don't do something about it now you're going to wake up tomorrow morning wishing I had, because you won't be able to move." Yuugi went back to kneading the over-tense muscles between Atem's shoulderblades. Atem tried to twist away again.

"I'm serious, Atem. Give me five minutes and it'll be over. It'll help, I promise." Yuugi pressed his thumbs against the lump again. Atem, perhaps impressed into compliance by Yuugi's use of his name, desisted. Yuugi pressed harder. Atem made another of those pained noises. Yuugi rubbed his thumbs in a circle. At last the muscles unlocked and Atem's shoulders relaxed. He let out a sigh.

"Better?"

Atem nodded. Yuugi rubbed over the spot with the heels of his hands and then let them come to rest on Atem's shoulders.

"Okay, this one you can pay me for."

Atem chuckled; he was tired – no, exhausted – but there was no mistaking one of Yuugi's jokes. "Perhaps another night I'll return the favour."

"I like that idea." Yuugi led Atem to the bed. "Now sleep."

Atem raised an eyebrow. "Since when is it your place to order me around?"

"Since you had a day from hell, and if I don't tell you to sleep you're going to stay up half the night worrying about it. Let it go for now. You can worry about it tomorrow if you want. Giving yourself insomnia isn't going to help anything."

Atem continued to give Yuugi the eyebrow. Yuugi shrugged.

"You can call it a really strong suggestion if you want to."

Atem sighed and gave in, settling against his pillows and allowing Yuugi to pull up the blankets and tuck them neatly around him. "You're far too forward for your own good, little Aibou."

Yuugi shrugged again. "That's just the way people are where I'm from."

"The land of Japanese."

Yuugi felt his own mouth quirk in a smile he knew instinctively he'd picked up from Atem. "Close. The country's called Japan. It's the language that's called Japanese."

"Ah." Atem rolled over to follow Yuugi with his eyes. "You should tell me about this land of Japan, then."

"Maybe some other time. You need sleep, and I need to finish my work."

Atem looked ready to argue, but decided it wasn't worth the energy. Yuugi tiptoed around, making busywork for himself, until he was absolutely one thousand percent positive Atem was sleeping. Then and only then did he kick off his sandals and undress to slip into bed.

There were some secrets Yuugi simply couldn't share.


	23. Every Story is a Love Story

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Wow.

I feel like I should have something incredibly profound to say, given how long this story is (also given how long I've worked on it, and that it's the first novel-length fanfiction I've ever actually completed), but the truth is, I don't. I could tell you about long hours spent researching, agonizing over parallel plotlines, writing, editing, even sitting at the dining room table going "what? Where the fuck did THIS come from? I mean, it's great, but where the fuck did it come from?", but either you already know about those things - or on some level have, at least, intuited them - or you don't care about them. I feel something of a loss finishing it up, but if you haven't written something of your own like this you wouldn't understand, and if you have, then you already know. So what more is there to say?

I suppose there are a couple of final notes to be made. The first is about Mahado. My characterisation of Mahado is based on three of my best teachers from my compulsory-education years: Mr. Kevin Wible (ninth grade history), Mr. Lon Jenkins (tenth grade English), and Mrs. Catherine Heil (seventh and eighth grade English; she also happens to be my mum). They are the kind of teachers I think every teacher should strive to be - compassionate, involved, striving to make their courses interesting for their kids. It's because of them that I was able to bring a slightly less haphazard characterisation to the teaching aspect of Mahado's character, and this final chapter is dedicated to them.

The second-slash-last note is about the end of the chapter. Some of you may notice that it would appear a section is missing right at the very end of this story. This is partly true. However, I decided I did not want this story to go the way of a certain seven-book saga featuring a boy with black hair and glasses, and a lot of pondering (also **T.K. Yuy**) led me to the conclusion that the final section would be akin to that hideous "Nineteen Years Later" epilogue for various reasons. If you'd really like to know what happens after the final epigram at the end, let me know in your review, and if enough people are in favour, I'll post it as a separate piece. (There's no sex in it, though, so don't ask for it in the vain hope of more R-rated scenes.)

And so I present to you the final chapter of _Written in the Stars._ It's been a fun ride; it's my sincere hope you'll come along with me on some of my future escapades both major and minor.

In the meantime, enjoy.

**THE -ONLY AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I'd like to give a shout-out to you guys for representing 21 countries (I checked in Reader Traffic)! It's really exciting when you realise your work is liked - or at least looked at - globally. A special shout-out to the Finland contingent for being so big, and to the Brazil contingent just because you guys are from Brazil. (Long story.) Glad to see you around

**Title**: Written in the Stars  
**Chapter**: 23/23  
**Author**: Nina/**TechnicolorNina**  
**Fandom**: Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**Pairing/Characters**: This chapter features **puzzleshipping/blindshipping**, and also a couple of incidental ship mentions.  
**Word Count**: 19 500  
**Story Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations, language,** and **violence**.  
**Chapter Rating**: **R/M** for **sexual situations**, **nudity**, **sex**, and a bit of **language**.  
**Story Summary**: When Yuugi's class gets to study a new panel from a pharaoh's tomb, Yuugi walks straight into trouble. Can he stay alive? And can he find his way home?  
**Chapter Summary**: . . . just read it. 's the last one.  
**Spoilers**: For the end of the series.  
**Warnings**: Eh. Sex?  
**Notes**: I would like to take note that in all relevant countries, **both Yuugi and Atem are now above the age of statutory consent.**  
**Feedback**: There may be something out there that's better than a review containing concrit, but if there is, I haven't found it yet. So if you have two minutes and you wouldn't mind? Please? Arigatou. (And concrit is cool. Flames are not.)  
**Special Thanks/Dedications**: This chapter is for **Sailor Twilight Assassin**, who introduced me to Dark Magician Jesus. nod (Also, I promised to plug her here. Her crack is win. I like it. You should like it, too. Go read it.)

* * *

"Your move."

Atem raised a hand absently and studied the board. Yuugi studied Atem. Opposite him, Idut was trying not to make it blatantly obvious that she was studying Set. Atem moved. Yuugi followed. Set took his turn to study the board and played. He scooped up the dice to hand them to Idut, who promptly dropped them. Yuugi watched her flush scarlet and wondered if Atem's inviting her had been such a good idea after all. Idut picked the dice up again and rolled. Set shook his head.

"Too low."

Idut flushed again as Atem picked up the dice. "I don't think I have the talent for it that you do," she admitted. Set shook his head.

"A truly good die is perfectly balanced. There's no talent to it at all. It's moving, not rolling, that takes practice."

Atem rolled three. Yuugi took the dice, clasped his hands loosely one against the other, and shook.

_Big money,_ he thought, a phrase from so many half-forgotten television gameshows. _Big money, big money, come on, big money._ It had once, when he was very small, been his joke with Jii-chan to chant "big money" while rolling the dice. Yuugi remembered holding a pair of dice - plastic, not knucklebone - in his hands and felt a wave of homesickness. He continued shaking, knowing if he only concentrated he could make it go away.

Yuugi let the dice spill out onto the board - a pair of sixes. Set snorted.

"I swear you cheat."

Yuugi looked down at the board so Set wouldn't see the insultingly wide grin Yuugi could not keep off his face. "A really good pair of dice are perfectly balanced. Isn't that what you said?"

Atem started laughing. Idut let out a squeak that was trying very hard not to follow Atem's suit. Yuugi chanced a glance upward. Set was giving Atem the glare that meant Atem ought to shut up. Atem wound down to chuckles.

"You're a poor example to the slaves, Set."

Set snorted and took the dice. Idut looked up at the sky.

"I - I should probably go," she murmured. "It's getting on close to evening."

"It's your leisure day," Atem protested. Idut shook her head.

"Only until afternoon," she answered. "I'm needed in the evenings."

Atem shrugged. "I suppose if you feel you're needed elsewhere I can hardly keep you here."

Idut got up, thanked them quietly for inviting her, and slipped away. There was a long silence. Then -

"I thought we had an agreement about that, Atem."

"Mmm?" Atem looked polite, but nothing more. Set gave him a _look_.

"You're matchmaking."

"I'm doing no such thing," Atem protested. "We needed a fourth to fill up the game, and with Mahado gone - "

" - you could just as easily have asked any member of the council, or half a dozen others," Set cut in. "You're matchmaking."

Yuugi decided to stay out of the argument. Trying to get between Atem and Set never went very well.

"If Idut chooses to make herself known to you as a potential wife, I can hardly stop her. She's strong-willed, if nothing else. I choose to stay out of it."

Set snorted again. "If that's what you call strong-willed, I'd hate to see what you consider docile."

Atem shrugged. "She's not Shemei. It's hardly her fault if circumstance made her soft-spoken. She's stubborn as a mule beneath."

"Um."

The men turned to Yuugi as one. He blushed, but he'd had enough. Listening to them argue was only amusing for so long. "What was wrong with her eye?" Yuugi hadn't seen much of Idut since he'd become Atem's personal servant, but he was absolutely positive the white scar by the corner of her eye - perhaps the size of Yuugi's smallest fingernail - had not been there the last time he'd seen her.

"The left one? Burned," Set answered. "An accident with an improperly lit cookstove. The fire exploded. I swear on my life Greek slaves ought not to be allowed in the kitchens. What kind of a fool puts stones in a cookstove to hold the heat?"

Yuugi shifted, but remained still. It wasn't his place to challenge the casual prejudices that surrounded him every day, no matter how uncomfortable they made him feel; he would have liked very much to point out that Set's female slave was both Greek and perfectly sensible, but doing so would only cause trouble. Yuugi had no desire to be whipped.

"One who didn't cook before becoming a slave?" Atem suggested. "Don't look at me that way. I've never cooked a day in my life. I wouldn't have the slightest idea."

Set shrugged. "As long as we're down to three, I suppose I ought to go see how Karim's managing with Mana. I've been doing her runes. Karim can't get her to sit still long enough to even explain how to invoke them."

Atem chuckled. "Mana's not going to like that."

"Her master's away, and she has lessons to learn. She'll learn them and be glad someone's taken the time to keep up with them, no matter the day."

"Perhaps."

Set sighed, stood up, smoothed his robes, and made an exit. Yuugi watched him go.

"Do you think Idut's going to be okay?"

Atem paused in the middle of clearing up the senet pieces. "Mmm?"

"Her eye. Set said she was burned."

"Shemei hasn't spent all these years in the kitchens to learn nothing, little Aibou. If it's already scarred, she'll be quite all right. The gods must have been watching for her, if such is her only injury."

Yuugi nodded. He felt badly for Idut, who had been beaten almost daily by her husband but had never actually been left with scars on her skin. Atem had expressed a hope that she might marry again someday; Yuugi wondered if a scarred face would prevent that. Egyptian men could be picky about the weirdest things, in Yuugi's opinion. He picked up the senet board and tucked it under his arm to carry away. Atem yawned.

"I can't abide this heat. It makes one lazy." Yuugi was a little surprised - Atem was mostly immune to the incredible Egyptian heat - but not entirely. Yuugi put it at a hundred and fifteen at the very least, and being so close to the Nile had a tendency to put a great deal of humidity in the air.

"You know, Mahado can't steal your clothes right now if you want to go swimming."

Atem started to laugh. He put his hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "Even were I so inclined, I hardly think it a good idea to do so in broad daylight, little Aibou. We'd be relying on our own protection, unless you're disposed to take a guard, as well."

Yuugi wrinkled his nose and wished - not for the first time - that Atem weren't the pharaoh. Swimming in the Nile could be great fun as long as the swimmer remembered to watch out for crocodiles. Swimming in the Nile under the watchful eye of a soldier, though . . . that was different. Atem smiled and tapped Yuugi's nose.

"Have you become a rabbit, little Aibou?"

Yuugi's nose wrinkled again. Atem chuckled and kissed Yuugi's forehead. He had to stretch to do it. "Perhaps it's best if we retire indoors. It's rather too warm outside the walls."

Yuugi nodded and followed Atem obediently.

"Can I ask you something?"

Atem turned to Yuugi and smiled. "You ought to stop asking me that, little Aibou. You know my answer by now."

Yuugi blushed. "Well . . . "

Atem raised an eyebrow at him. Yuugi blushed more heavily and continued.

"_Were_ you matchmaking?"

Atem chuckled. "Not as such. If Set chooses to take it so such is his decision, but as he said, we do have an agreement. He refuses all entreaties to force a wife on me, and I respect his decision to remain unmarried."

"Isn't that kind of weird? I mean - " Yuugi tried to consider how to best explain what he meant. "I just thought that was a big deal here. You know, being married."

Atem shrugged. "He's not young as these things go, but he has at least a good fifteen years ahead of him - twenty-five if the gods are good, and perhaps more. It's happened in the past, after all. Sooner or later he'll change his mind."

"How old is he, anyway? I thought he was your age."

Atem shook his head. "His exact age is a mystery - he was orphaned as a child - but he puts himself at somewhere between twenty and twenty-three. I tend to lean toward the latter. He remembers the presenting ceremony when I was born, and I find it a bit hard to believe a two-year-old would have any clear memory of it. Twenty-three seems the more likely."

Yuugi tried to imagine not having an exact age or birthday and failed. Atem sighed.

"Well, little Aibou, what would you? It's in the palace we should stay for the nonce, I think."

Yuugi considered. "I could teach you how to play _Yahtzee._"

Atem's brow furrowed. "To play what?"

"Yahtzee. It's a dice game. We'll need - mm. Papyrus and something to write with, so I can keep score, and five dice. I probably can't write numbers you know, but if you'll help me make a key I can keep score in hieratic. And then I'll show you how to play, if you want."

Atem's face was lit by a sunny grin. "Such would please me ever, little Aibou."

"You should probably ask for the papyrus. Karim'll give it to you, but probably not me."

"Tell him I sent you. He'll give it to you."

Yuugi nodded. "Okay. Where's he going to be - I mean, because it's the weekend? I don't know where he stays."

"Two doors down from Mahado in the complex. His door is red - you can't possibly miss it."

Yuugi nodded again. "See you in your room in fifteen minutes?"

It was Atem's turn to nod. "And then, little Aibou, you can teach me Yozzy."

"Yahtzee," Yuugi corrected absently. "Okay."

They smiled at each other.

And Yuugi headed out for the complex.  
f

* * *

Yuugi rolled the dice. Three fives, a one, and a four. He put the fives to the side and rolled again.

"Clear-roll." This was a term Atem, still unable to say 'Yahtzee' after Yuugi had repeated it for him four times, had coined as a name for rolling all five of the same number. Yuugi had taken it up out of respect for Atem, although he still had to stop and think about what he was saying every time he rolled five of the same. He marked his score down on the paper. Atem frowned vaguely. Yuugi looked at what he'd written and realised he'd used Arabic figures instead of Egyptian glyphs.

"Um. Sorry. How do you write 'fifty,' again?"

Atem took the stylus out of Yuugi's hand, turned the papyrus around, and marked the number on the corner. Yuugi studied it and then copied it into his score-box. Atem had suggested that Karim might keep a card for them, but Yuugi had insisted on doing it himself; it gave him an incentive to learn hieratic numbers, and he didn't mind looking a bit silly in front of the council as long as he wasn't undermining Atem's authority by doing it. He also believed, but did not say aloud, that he was fairly sure Karim would cheat the scores in Atem's favour. Yuugi didn't mind losing - had occasionally lost on purpose when Atem proposed to entertain guests with a game simply because it was best if Atem appeared undefeated, and Atem would always make it up to him with a rematch later - but being deliberately cheated out of a win would have irked him to no end. Atem took up the dice and took his rolls.

"I have four of three."

"D'you want to take four of a kind, or fill up your three-spot?"

Atem considered. Yuugi had explained to him that the mechanics in winning a game of Yahtzee were a combination of luck and good planning, and Atem had taken Yuugi's words to heart.

"Four of a kind."

Yuugi let the stylus hover over the inkwell. "Are you sure?" Atem was drawing close to the enticing 65 on top that would give him the 25-point bonus, and if he took the three-spot he'd be only three points away. It was a bonus that could easily tip the entire game on its head. Set, who took a kind of especial pleasure in games that involved both planning and scorekeeping, watched them intently. Siamun and Ankhnadin had both raised their eyebrows in expressions that seemed to say something about kids these days and their disrespect for two thousand years of tradition.

Atem seemed to be adding up points in his head. "Perhaps filling in the three-spot would be better," he allowed, and Yuugi wrote in the twelve points where they belonged. Then he rolled.

"Great Pharaoh, a caravan from Nubia approaches."

Atem shifted on the throne. "If the caravan is friendly, let them in."

Yuugi felt a strange sensation race down his spine - not a chill, but something similar. The exchange was identical to one he remembered from the day Atem had first taken notice of him outside the kitchens. So much was the same, and yet so much had changed - including Yuugi himself. He couldn't imagine the Yuugi he was then being able to even keep up with the Yuugi he was now.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor. Yuugi palmed the dice and retreated to his place by Atem's throne as Atem hauled himself off the floor. Yuugi put the stylus with Karim's supplies and sat back. Atem sat on the throne and raised his head.

The caravan belonged to the jewel-trader Kasim. Atem leaned forward.

"How fares our counselor in your land?"

Kasim swept an arm behind him. A dusty man with very dark skin let go of someone's shoulder and stepped forward, limping slightly. The scars beneath his eyes stood out sharply against his sunburned skin.

"All's well between us, and all's been done," said a very familiar voice. Yuugi felt his face split in a grin.

_All's well, all right._

* * *

Yuugi sighed and flopped back against the pillows. "I'm beat."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Really tired," Yuugi translated. This one, at least, he didn't have to think about. Atem raised his eyebrows.

"Ah." He rolled over and slid an arm over Yuugi's waist.

"Uh-uh. Not again. Once is enough."

Atem put his lips against Yuugi's ear. "Do you think so, little Aibou?"

"I know so. Unless you want to be serving yourself your own meals and carrying your own stuff tomorrow while I just lay around up here trying to get my legs to work again."

Atem chuckled and ran his fingers though Yuugi's hair. "I'd not be the cause of your pain if I can avoid such." He sighed and curled up against Yuugi's side like a cat after drinking a bowl of fresh cream. Yuugi was surprised, but said nothing; Atem had been positively jubilant since Mahado's return. His being in the throne room had required a certain decorum of him, but as soon as they were in private Yuugi had been positively attacked with hugs and kisses and laughter. Yuugi had the feeling Mahado ought to be glad he hadn't stopped by Atem's quarters for a chat; Atem was the smaller of the pair by far, but size would not have prevented Mahado from being pounced on, perhaps even knocked over, by an excited Atem. Yuugi wrapped his arms around Atem's waist.

"You know something? I could live like this."

"You are living like this, little Aibou."

Yuugi played absently with the hair at the very back of Atem's neck. "No, you don't understand. I mean, you know, permanently. I don't think I'm ever going to stop missing home, but I could still live like this."

"To make Egypt your home, you mean?"

Yuugi shrugged. "I guess you could put it that way if you wanted." He tried to pull Atem closer, but there was no more cuddle room available. "I just like being here with you."

Yuugi felt Atem smile against his chest. "It pleases me to hear you say so, little Aibou."

"Well, it's true." Yuugi paused. "I should find something to call you."

"Mmm?" Atem wiggled upward to look Yuugi in the face, obviously puzzled.

"Well, you know, you call me 'little Aibou' all the time, and I don't think I ever call you anything at all. Except Atem."

Atem shrugged. "Your tastes are plainer than mine, perhaps. I've no objection to it."

"Yeah, but that doesn't seem right," Yuugi protested. "I mean, if you want to look at it like that, you know all my names, and you get to pick which one you use. I've never heard anyone call you anything but Atem." He paused, and when he began again, there was mischief in his voice and his grin. "Except, you know, Great-Pharaoh-who-is-morning-star."

Atem snorted laughter and rested his forehead against Yuugi's shoulder. Yuugi followed him into helpless giggles.

"Little Aibou, you're incorrigible."

"I had a good teacher. Atem and Yuugi, partners in crime. Hey, that's it. I could call you my _koibito_."

Atem made a face. "Your _what_?"

"Umm. Well, okay. 'Aibou' means 'partner,' but it's kind of like a working relationship, not a romantic one. And - "

"And this ko-bitto would be another form of 'partner?'"

"Koibito," Yuugi corrected. "Or just 'koi,' if that's easier. They mean the same. But yeah. Koibito is a partner, but more like - you know - a lover."

"Ah." Atem considered. "And yet, little Aibou, you already address me directly so little. Do you think calling me such would change anything?"

Yuugi shrugged. "It could, you know. I'd kind of like having a special name to call you."

"Little Koi-bito," Atem mused, and Yuugi swatted him with a pillow. They both started laughing.

_Yeah, I could live like this._

* * *

"So, with a night's rest behind you and a morning's time before you, advisor Mahado, tell us: how went your journey?"

"We reached the capital in good time," Mahado said, "and Kasim garnered my entry into the court, where I was granted an audience with the king."

"And what had he to say?"

"Well, first he called me a pyramid-building ass - "

"After the obligatory round of insults, Mahado."

Yuugi stifled a squeak. Mahado and the Nubian king were only half-brothers, not full - and that only if Mahado's hypotheses were true - but they had been raised together, and the long-held sibling rivalry between them was the stuff of legend. Mahado's brother had gotten the throne, but Mahado had gotten the brains of the outfit, and his brother both knew and resented it.

"He listened to our proposal," Mahado answered, "and concurred that peace is in the best interest of all of us just now. He returned one gift for the other, as Shada may have told you, and all's been stored for your perusal at the occasion most convenient to you. There was a list, the easier for you to examine his gifts, that I translated from Nubian into hieratic in the evenings on the return from the capital - " Mahado produced a thickish document Yuugi could only presume had to be both the original and the translation - "and it would be my suggestion to pass it directly to Karim for a more legible copying into the official record. Writing on one's own lap with no tablet isn't precisely conducive to a neat document, I'm afraid."

Atem nodded and waved Mahado in Karim's direction. Mahado handed over the document and then resumed his report.

"I completed the copying and translation of the scroll I sought to replace, and as mentioned when we spoke in my rooms yesterday, the second half of the scroll can be copied from the undamaged portion of my own original."

"Excellent. Then you'll be returning to your usual duties among us . . . ?"

"The day after tomorrow, I think," Mahado said. "I'd like to take a day to rest and review Mana's lessons first."

Atem nodded his approval. Mahado bowed and made his exit. Atem ordered the list read aloud. Karim did so, pausing several times to decipher Mahado's handwriting, and at one point he stopped altogether.

"Well, on with it, then."

"I'm sorry, Great Pharaoh," Karim apologised. "Mahado is a good man and a wise one, but either this is a word with no translation, or his ability to spell properly suffered greatly during his journey homeward."

Atem held out a hand. "Let me see it."

Karim handed the list over. Atem examined it. Yuugi wished he could see the mystery word, to try and figure it out. A smile lit Atem's face. The word he said to Karim was one Yuugi did not understand, but then -

"They're a Nubian fruit with an orange rind. Curious things - they grow in globes that break into segments exactly the right size to eat. They won't grow here. Mahado believes it has to do with the difference in climate."

Oranges? Here? Bliss! Yuugi wondered what it would take to talk Atem into giving him one. Or two. Or half a dozen. Atem handed the packet of papyrus back to Karim.

The sheaf did not contain both translations of the list, and by lunchtime Yuugi was both bored brainless and a little in awe of Mahado's apparent speed. Many of the items on the list were of absolutely no interest to Yuugi whatsoever - amethyst and ivory were pretty materials, but unless they'd been fashioned into a checkerboard, Yuugi really wasn't interested in them. He was more than a little relieved when Atem left the throne.

"I think I'll call it a half-day, little Aibou," Atem mused. "I've the urge to pay a visit to Mahado. It's been long since we've sat at a board together."

Yuugi pouted and batted his eyes like a girl. "But, _koibito!_"

Atem began to laugh. Yuugi grinned. It was the stupidest joke since the beginning of ever, but Atem thought it was an absolute riot. At last he quieted.

"I think I'll release you just now. Be in the back courtyard in an hour."

Yuugi nodded and went his way. Someone had made rice and lentils, and Yuugi helped himself to a bowl. He took it back to his room with a bowl of beer and had lunch, then settled down with his new blocks of wood. Yuugi had decided to try his luck with Siamun on that score, and had been pleasantly surprised to discover that slaves, like servants, received wages. The majority of Yuugi's pay - unlike that of the servants' - came in the form of clothes and food, but there was a small portion of gold, as well, and two years' worth of it was more than enough to purchase the wood and paint he needed for Atem's Mahjongg tiles. Yuugi found himself incredibly glad that the initial language barrier had left him completely in the dark. It meant more money for materials now.

Even better than the ability to buy his own wood, he'd managed to save himself some time by finding a woodsmith who was perfectly happy to cut Yuugi's purchase into an even 144 pieces in a single afternoon with a lathe, saving Yuugi literally months of work with a carving knife. He could focus instead on painting the kanji and making the tiles beautiful, real works of art like the antique painted ivory set he remembered having once passed through Jii-chan's hands, instead of a slapdash set with the kanji hurriedly painted in the last few days before New Year. With an hour before him, Yuugi pulled off his wrap - he was not messy about his work, but he thought it better to avoid getting spots of paint on the white cotton - and pulled out the pot of green.

Then he took the sheet of numbers Atem had so carefully helped him copy out, Arabic and hieratic one next to the other, and laid it next to the tiles, and began to paint.

* * *

Yuugi brought a tray with beer when he came to the back courtyard; he'd peered out his window long enough to determine that there were two people there, and a good servant, armed with this knowledge, would bring drink. He was somehow not at all surprised to find Atem sitting with Mahado, teaching him Yahtzee. Yuugi had taken a small stack of papyrus one lazy evening and made up a set of scorecards so Atem could play when he wasn't around. It was one of these scorecards Mahado was now attempting to memorise.

"You don't have to learn it by heart," Atem was protesting. "All the information you need is on the papyrus."

Mahado shrugged and rolled the dice. "I still say I prefer senet."

"Senet requires a board and markers. Unless there's a set stashed away out here, which I highly doubt, then - little Aibou," Atem greeted. "You're here."

Yuugi nodded. He offered the men the beer he'd brought with him. They took the bowls and drank. Yuugi waited patiently for Atem to assign him another task. Atem set his bowl down on the barrel they were using as a playing field.

"If you've nothing to occupy yourself, little Aibou, I suggest you take your tray back to the kitchens and obtain something. We may be here yet awhile, and I'd like you in attendance - but not immediately by."

Yuugi nodded. He was a little confused - Atem ought to know by now that Yuugi didn't gossip - but let it slide. He did as Atem instructed and asked Shemei if there were any chores that could both use an extra set of hands and be completed in the courtyard. She gave him a basket of peas to shell. Yuugi balanced them on his hip and headed back to the courtyard, where he settled into a comfortable corner and began his work. Shelling peas was one of Yuugi's favourite tasks, one he actually missed from his days in the kitchen - the work was easy, the unwanted pods delicious, and the task simple enough that he could complete it and let his mind wander as it pleased while he did. He wondered if he could, perhaps, talk Shemei or Idut into making rice with peas and onions in some night; peas and onions, with beef and gravy spooned overtop. It was not Jii-chan's stir-fry - that would have required soy sauce, not to mention baby corn-ears and peppers and broccoli - but it would be something like it.

"Of course I will."

Yuugi looked up from his peas. Mahado was holding Atem's hands, the smile on his face tired but genuine. Atem looked positively ecstatic.

"I was once told by someone I respect a great deal that truth is more important than propriety, and if it's so - and perhaps, sometimes, it is so - I see no good reason to withhold what you'd ask of me."

Yuugi ducked his head and went back to his peas, humming quietly to block out the rest of the conversation. Atem usually winked at Yuugi's commenting on anything he'd heard during the course of the day, whether servants' scuttlebutt or council's chatter, but Yuugi would not betray Atem's trust by eavesdropping when Atem had given him implicit orders not to.

At last he heard someone getting up to leave, and looked up just in time to see Mahado kiss Atem's forehead - a purely fatherly gesture Yuugi had also seen bestowed on Mana at least once - before disappearing through the door into the castle. Atem was smiling. Yuugi wished he knew what the pair of them had been talking about. Once, Atem had been given to a grin that was as much a smirk as a smile; time and Yuugi had gentled it into something sweeter, but still wide and sunny and occasionally ridiculous. The smile on his face now was neither of those, but rather a slightly dreamy and offbeat curving of the lips. Yuugi shifted conspicuously with his basket. Atem glanced in his direction, the spell broken, and the smile became his usual sunny grin.

"Little Aibou." He patted the seat next to him. Yuugi padded over obediently and took the place vacated by Mahado. Atem took his hand. Yuugi rested his head on Atem's shoulder.

"I appreciate your patience. I'd expected us to be here longer, and require refreshment."

Yuugi shrugged. "Don't worry about it." He snuggled a little closer. "Am I allowed to know what that was all about?"

Atem chuckled. "If it's our discussion to which you refer, then you'll know soon enough. If it's the other - " Yuugi understood Atem was referring to the way Mahado had taken his leave - "then you know already as much as I. Were I to guess, I'd say he found what he sought in Nubia."

Yuugi considered for a long time. "Okay. I give up. What was he looking for?"

Atem's fingers wound into Yuugi's hair. "Peace of mind."

Yuugi nodded. He thought he could understand that.

* * *

Yuugi looked at the tiles. Atem had paid a second visit - this one to Set - and had voiced the opinion that it would be best if Yuugi simply met him for supper and took the rest of the afternoon for himself. Yuugi had agreed readily, and now sitting in front of him was one set of Mahjongg tiles, numbered neatly in hieratic and awaiting decoration. Yuugi had been stopped only once, by the two sets of four that had nothing to do with numbers - the season-set and the flower-set. These he'd replaced with native flowers and, since there were only three seasons in Atem's time, native animals as well. He'd been careful to paint the ceremonial slash across the bodies of the snake and crocodile, the one that would, according to magic lore, keep them from coming to life and attacking the pharaoh. Far be it from him to send the council into hysterics by presenting a gift with a perceived threat in it.

Yuugi took his brush out to the slaves' courtyard and washed it. Then he cut himself two small sycamore branches. Some of the kanji he'd paint next were too delicate to be painted with a soft brush, and so he intended to use the stiffer, thinner wood-point as a kind of pencil for the lighter strokes. He wished he'd thought to bring the tiles out here, where the wind would dry them quickly and carry off the smell of the paint.

Yuugi considered his options, and then relieved the kitchens of a tray he could use to carry some of the tiles to the courtyard. He would work on them two dozen at a time and return them to his rooms when they were dry. At this rate he'd have the entire set done well before New Year, still a full month and a half away. Yuugi blinked in surprise when he realised for the first time that his twentieth birthday - quite the big deal in his home country - had come and gone completely unnoticed.

Eventually Atem, leaving Set's rooms well before sunset, came to fetch Yuugi from the courtyard. Yuugi tried to hide the tiles he had with little success. Atem raised a playful eyebrow.

"Another project that won't turn out so well, little Aibou?"

Yuugi made a face. "It's going pretty good so far," he answered, and automatically reached back to knock on the tree trunk behind him. "Don't jinx me."

Atem chuckled. "What is it?"

"It's a game called Mahjongg." Yuugi blushed. "I was kind of hoping you wouldn't see them until they were done."

"They look well enough to me."

"I've got about a hundred more that need finished back in my room," Yuugi told him. "Mahjongg's a big game." He nearly laughed at the shock on Atem's face. "Anyway, these are just the _kanji_ - it's kind of like the Japanese version of hieratic," he elaborated, gesturing toward the kanji-suit tiles he'd brought with him. "You're actually supposed to decorate the tiles, too."

"Do these serve some ceremonial purpose, little Aibou?" Atem picked up the seven of circles and tilted it back and forth to catch the light. Yuugi shook his head.

"Not really. I mean, the single-person game is sort of a mind-building exercise, because it teaches you to be observant and think around corners, but it's not, you know, taught in schools or part of a religious ceremony or anything. It's just for fun."

"Ah." Atem put the tile carefully back where he'd taken it from. "Then these are your alphabet?" he enquired, tapping the outlines of circles and bamboo sticks Yuugi had carefully painted in black, to be filled in and decorated later. Yuugi started laughing, embarrassed, and rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Oh. No. Sorry. Those are _suits_ - types of tiles. These are from the circle suit, and these ones - " Yuugi tapped another tile - "are _bamboo_. It's a kind of grass that can actually be used like wood for a lot of things."

"This grows in your country?"

Yuugi nodded. "My whole part of the world, actually. China grows loads of it. That's, um - well, my country is an island, like Greece, and China's the land closest to it."

"Mm. And these, little Aibou - " Atem pointed to the third suit - "you called these by another name."

"Those are kanji," Yuugi said. "It's the formal version of Japanese writing. The kanji tiles are part of the symbol-suit."

"I think I begin to understand why you use the heathen characters when you scorekeep," Atem mused. Yuugi shrugged.

"They're faster when you're in a hurry, yeah. I put the numbers on these in hieratic. I tried to, anyway. I think the eights are a little off."

"They look perfectly all right to me," Atem answered. "And here I thought you asked to learn hieratic for my benefit. You're quite the sneak."

Yuugi wrapped his arms around Atem's shoulders from behind. "I did ask for your benefit, koibito." Yuugi loved having a reason to use that word. "It just . . . wasn't for your benefit the way you thought it was."

Atem chuckled and turned his head as Yuugi had so many times. Yuugi kissed him happily and then for a few moments they only sat that way, heads together, Yuugi with his arms around Atem and Atem with his hands resting against Yuugi's arms. At last Atem sighed and moved to push himself up from the ground. Yuugi leaned back to get out of his way.

"And so you intended these tiles of yours for what purpose?" Atem asked at last, taking Yuugi's hand and pulling him up. Yuugi staggered slightly before catching his balance; he probably should have planted his feet first.

"Well, for you," Yuugi answered. "I was going to give it to you for New Year."

Atem chuckled. "People don't give gifts for New Year, little Aibou."

Yuugi held open the door to the palace. "Well, maybe they don't here, but where I'm from we have a holiday called _Christmas_ where we give lots of gifts and it's a week before New Year, and it's a really big deal." Yuugi stopped in surprise. "Actually, it's about a week before your birthday, too."

Atem's chuckles turned into an outright laugh. "Your people celebrate the new year in winter?"

Yuugi nodded.

"Now I know they must be mad."

"Well, I don't see the sense in celebrating right in the middle of summer, so maybe it's your people who are weird."

Atem let out a final snort. "Indeed. Next you'll be telling me you all celebrate your own birth festivals."

"We do, actually," Yuugi said, after taking a moment to decide that 'birth festival' was probably what Atem called all birthdays, not just his own. "Mine would have been last week."

Atem looked somewhat more interested. "Do you say so?"

Yuugi nodded. "I think. Next month is New Year, right?"

Atem nodded.

"Then yeah. My birthday would have been the fourth day of this month. I'm twenty now."

"Little Aibou, you ought to have said something."

"Nobody else does."

"Nobody else is you." Atem stroked Yuugi's hair away from the side of his face. "Perhaps it's not cause for a state festival, but I wouldn't in the least have minded celebrating with you."

Yuugi shrugged. "It's no big deal. Usually at home I just had some friends over for dinner and then we'd play a game or something and that was it. Anyway, it's no big deal. I mean, turning twenty is a big deal in Japan, because that's when you get old enough to do a lot of stuff for yourself, but - "

Atem silenced Yuugi with a finger against his lips. "You went out of the way to ensure my own festival was a pleasant one, little Aibou. It's only fair I return the favour."

Yuugi blushed. "You don't have to do that."

"Nevertheless, I'd return your kindness." Atem stopped them both in the middle of the hallway and took Yuugi's hands. "Come, tell me what you'd like."

**How romantic,** New Yuugi teased. Yuugi felt a stab of homesickness. For just a moment, his mischievous mental counterpart had sounded almost exactly like Jounouchi. He waited, and the melancholy passed. Yuugi shrugged. What could Atem give him that he didn't have already, except for things he'd never have again?

"You spoke of a special meal, little Aibou. What of it?"

"Nothing you can get here," Yuugi answered, aware as he did it that he was making this much harder on Atem than it needed to be. "Jii-chan used to make it. It's called _stir-fry._"

"And what, exactly, is that?"

"Mostly stuff you can't get here. All you can get here that's in it is carrots and onions, and Jii-chan made it with pea-pods in. You cook it all up with some beef or chicken and serve it over rice."

"And is it cooked in some special way?"

"You - you're supposed to cook it in something called a _wok_, but you haven't got those here, either," Yuugi answered. "It's kind of like frying it, only instead of just leaving everything to sit on one side and get brown, you keep stirring it so it cooks all over at once." There was actually a trick to how it was stirred, too, but Yuugi wasn't even going to attempt explaining it. "And then you serve it over rice, and eat it."

Atem's brow furrowed. "It seems to me, little Aibou, that what you recommend would be rather painful to eat. Fried foods are hot."

"Hmm? No. We eat with _chopsticks_ in Japan, not our fingers. Those are, um . . . okay, they actually look kind of like pick-up sticks, only longer and a little thicker. There are ones made of bamboo - "

"The wood-grass."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, those ones you usually use once and throw out, but a lot of people have ones that last longer. My family has two sets - this really, really old set that's been in our family for about a hundred years, and those ones are ivory. We use them for company. And then there's the ones we use every day."

"And are your everyday chop-sticks made of bamboo?"

Yuugi shook his head. "_Plastic_. There's nothing even close to it here, but it's really common where I'm from." _It'd probably be common here, too, if it'd been invented yet._

Atem pondered. "I think, little Aibou, that if you can find a way to get these chop-sticks, we might have a special meal of our own this evening."

Yuugi's eyes widened. "Seriously? You actually mean that?"

"I rarely if ever say things I don't mean, little Aibou."

It had been two years since Yuugi had tasted Jii-chan's stir-fry, and this would be nowhere near - but it would be close enough to be a taste of home, and Yuugi felt his mouth trying to water.

"All I'd need is a strip of wood," Yuugi said. "Maybe a finger thick, and three fingers wide. I can do the rest in ten minutes."

"I'll see if I can secure one from Shada for you. And if you're agreeable, I could take you to ride."

"If you'll wear a cloak, then I'm agreeable."

Atem smiled widely. "And I may have something else for you, as well. Go, little Aibou. Wash up, and I'll bring the wood to your room."

Yuugi nodded.

* * *

Yuugi was waiting in the corridor when Atem came to retrieve him. He had two pairs of chopsticks clasped in his hand - rough ones, the kind his mother would never have allowed at her dining room table in a thousand years unless there was no other option, but that was all right. Yuugi had tested both pairs on checker pieces and a senet marker, and they seemed to work well enough. Atem reached for Yuugi's free hand.

"Come, little Aibou. It's time for us to eat."

Yuugi grinned at him. "Yes, koi."

"I'm beginning to think you enjoy that far more than you should."

"Before I ended up here, I kind of figured I'd never have a koibito. I was too weird. You better believe I enjoy it." Yuugi squeezed Atem's hand. Atem squeezed back.

Yuugi was more than just momentarily wrong-footed when Atem led him not to his usual storeroom, nor even to the smaller private dining room he was in the habit of using at least sometimes when there was nothing important going on, but to the banquet hall itself.

"Tell me you didn't throw together a surprise party in an hour," Yuugi pleaded. Spending the evening with Atem would be nice. Having the entire council dragged in would not be.

"Not as such," Atem answered. "But I'm only one, and you spoke of an evening with friends." And he pushed the door open.

Yuugi was so sure Atem would have half the palace waiting for him that for a quarter of a second he was convinced they were all sitting there in their best dress, staring at him. Then his vision cleared and he saw better. The room was empty, save for two place settings at the royal table.

"We're to join Mahado and Mana for a bowl after we've eaten," Atem said. "And then we'll ride."

"Yeah, where were you planning on doing that, anyway?" Yuugi was somewhat nervous about that part of the whole thing.

"Into the desert," Atem answered. "There are paths we can ride, and we won't disturb the townsfolk."

Yuugi nodded. As long as it wasn't by the Nile.

Dinner was a fantastic affair; Atem had relayed Yuugi's description to Shemei, who had done her best to put it together. Her best wasn't Jii-chan's, but it was still good, and along with it came sweet wine and sweeter oranges, tangy and delicious. Atem watched Yuugi set to with his chopsticks, just a few bites to remind himself how to use them. Then Yuugi put them down, carefully crossed on the edge of his plate - two years was not enough time to forget proper table manners.

"I brought you a pair, too, if you want to try them."

Atem eyed the second pair warily. Yuugi had been exceedingly careful to get rid of the few splinters that had presented themselves. Atem reached for the second pair, and the next ten minutes saw their dinner grow cool while Yuugi tried to show Atem how to use the pieces of wood in his hand. At last Atem - who had chosen to laugh at himself instead of getting frustrated - shrugged and gave up.

"Perhaps it's self-evident to you, little Aibou, but I'm afraid I've not the talent for it."

"You might," Yuugi answered. "I was almost six before I could use them exactly right, and I started using them when I was three. Don't feel bad. They take a little practice." He picked up a pea pod and bit it in two. Atem watched him, and then scooped up some of the dish with his fingers and tried it.

"Well, it's not Jii-chan's, but it's still pretty good. What do you think?"

"Unusual, but not displeasing." Atem tried a pea pod and then put it down. "I still say the innards are preferable."

Yuugi shrugged. "Suit yourself." He was happy just to have a pair of chopsticks in his hand, and familiar food before him - not to mention the prospect of a late-night ride away from the palace when there were no curious townspeople to stare at him.

At last they finished, and Atem slid around the edge of the table to take Yuugi's hand and pull him up. Yuugi reached for the dishes - there was no serving tray, but he could stack them well enough - and Atem stopped him.

"Tonight we celebrate, little Aibou. It's not your care."

Yuugi hesitated, then nodded. Atem could work wonders in the space of three hours, it seemed. Yuugi simply let Atem lead him out, through the corridors, through the kitchens, through the kitchen yard. A horse was waiting for them. Atem scrambled up - he would not let Yuugi help him - and then pulled Yuugi up in front of him.

"And next to the complex. I've heard there's something in wait for you."

Yuugi had a mental image of half-hidden videogame bosses lurking just out of sight, tucked away at the top of staircases and down trapdoors in castles. "What, did Mahado put Ammit on a leash while he was in Nubia?"

Atem started laughing. The horse beneath him - an experienced gelding long used to Atem's strange outbursts - simply cantered on. "Hardly, little Aibou. I referred to something he procured today from one of his servants."

"Okay."

The horse stopped, and Atem slid down with the practiced ease of someone who'd ridden a thousand times before. He took Yuugi's waist to help him down, and then knocked on the door. It was Mana who opened it, and she promptly threw her arms around Yuugi's waist with a squeal.

"You're here!"

"Wow!" was the word that came out of Yuugi's mouth when Mana hit his midsection. "Yeah. I'm here. Hi, Mana."

The voice behind her was amused, indulgent, but firm. "Mana . . . "

Mana let go and trotted back inside obediently. Atem and Yuugi followed her. There were six places set at Mahado's plain table, and Hebony and Idut were standing up to pay their respects. Atem waved them back to their places.

"I'm afraid we're a bit late."

"Not a minute," Mahado answered. "The womenfolk got here a bit early." He waited for Atem to take a seat before taking his own, and then called to one of his servants. She brought some of the flavoured wine Yuugi had come to expect as custom when in Mahado's home, and along with it some kind of bread that, when Yuugi took his first bite, turned out to not be bread at all. It reminded him a little of Grandma Mutou's recipe for Christmas cake, fresh figs and plums and the sweeter, spicier taste of dried apples and dates, all overlaid with the taste of honey and a pinch of cinnamon. Yuugi devoured it. Dessert was a rare treat even for the pharaoh's favourite, and he had little doubt Mahado had been sweet-talked into the whole thing.

"This is fantastic."

Mahado smiled. "I'm glad it pleases you."

Idut and Hebony were the first to leave - both of them had to be up before sunrise - and after a short game of team senet, Atem and Mahado against Yuugi and Mana, Mahado sent Mana to wash up and go to bed.

"Do you know, I don't think I've ever seen a game of senet end in a tie before," Mahado mused. "That was a first."

Atem and Yuugi shrugged almost in unison. Mahado chuckled.

"I'm afraid I've also got to be getting along," he said. "Tomb duties tomorrow before council."

Atem said his goodnights. Yuugi thanked Mahado for the rare treat that was neither cake nor bread but some delicious combination of the two, and then the pair of them left. Atem pulled Yuugi up onto the horse.

"And now, little Aibou, what say you? The moon's near-full, and we've all the land before us."

* * *

The moon laid a clear track before them long after they'd left palace and city behind. The wind was cool but not cold, and Yuugi held his arms out, laughing, as Atem's horse galloped across dunes and hardpan. The wind whipped Yuugi's tangled curls into his face. He pulled them away with impatient fingers and threw the arm back out. It wasn't quite flying, but close.

At last Atem pulled the horse back to a trot, and then to a walk. He waited for the horse to decide he was good and ready to stop, and then slid off. He helped Yuugi down after him.

"It's beautiful out here," Yuugi said. It was true. The desert was bare of trees, grass, even deadwood. Instead it had dunes, silvered by the moon, and rocks, turned to ebony by the shadows, and an absolutely unbelievable view of the stars. Yuugi felt almost dizzy just looking at them. Atem rested a hand on Yuugi's shoulder.

"I think the moon's got into your blood, little Aibou."

"Maybe," Yuugi answered. It was _good_ to be out of the palace, good to be in this place with Atem's arms around him and a free, playful breeze in his hair. Yuugi rested a hand on top of Atem's. Then he kicked off his sandals, pulled away, and sped off across the sand.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Atem called after him. Yuugi turned around, and on his face was one of the largest grins he'd ever grinned at anyone.

"What, are you too tired to catch me?"

Atem gave Yuugi a _look_, the one that said Yuugi wasn't stupid enough to believe Atem would back down from a challenge like that, and Yuugi turned around to keep going before Atem could get out of his sandals and cloak and follow. Atem was smaller, but his legs were longer than Yuugi's, and with the biggest head-start in the world Yuugi couldn't hope to outrun him forever.

He was doing pretty well until he tried to feint a turn; Atem crashed into him from behind, and they both tumbled to the ground.

"Ow!" Yuugi brushed sand off his palms. He wasn't hurt, but sand stung when it was pressed in hard enough. Atem rolled over and sat up, dazed. Yuugi simply watched him.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"I guess you caught me."

"I did." Atem made for the horse. Yuugi felt a moment of dismay, and then Atem reached up to the cloak he'd thrown over the gelding's back and detached something.

"I'd intended to give this to you before leaving the palace, but I'd forgotten I had it with me." Atem took Yuugi's hand and turned it over so the palm was up. He put the mystery item in Yuugi's palm and closed his fingers over it.

Yuugi opened his fingers. Something vaguely silvered and purple glittered in the moonlight. Yuugi held it up to examine it. It appeared to be a scarab, carved out of amethyst - a powerful amulet to say the very least.

"For me?"

"Mmm." The sound Atem made was noncommittal, but he nodded and smiled as he said it. Yuugi searched for the hole or clasp that would let him string it on the cord with the schen ring and the gold band he'd won from Atem. Held in his hand, the purple seemed brighter than ever.

"Just promise me one thing. Even if it's a lie."

"Hmm?"

"Tell me you didn't give me an amethyst one so it would match my eyes," Yuugi pleaded. He didn't _mind_ his eyes, but just once it would be nice to have some other part of him noticed first.

"Never think it, little Aibou. Amethyst is a stone of unequalled power." He kissed Yuugi and then smiled against his mouth. "Although I must admit it does suit you."

Yuugi groaned and pushed playfully at Atem's shoulders. Atem stumbled, not expecting even that little nudge, and Yuugi grabbed him to keep him from going right over onto his backside. He didn't succeed; Atem was already too far past his center of balance, and all Yuugi managed to do was fall with him. They lay on the sand, both momentarily stunned, and then began laughing - Atem first, Yuugi following. At last they wound down, and Yuugi whispered in Atem's ear.

In two years Yuugi had only ever seen shock on Atem's face two or three times, and the expression had never been preceded by a positive incident. Now there were no tears to be wiped away, no frightened women to bring a reminder of an evil past, and Yuugi wished - for the thousandth time or so at least - that Polaroid had existed in 1000 BC.

"Little _Aibou!_"

"Mmm?" Yuugi grinned at the expression on Atem's face. Atem sat up and began dusting himself off.

"I think perhaps we ought to get you indoors. The moon really _has_ gotten into your blood."

"My birthday," Yuugi reminded him. Atem shook his head.

"And when you turn up tomorrow in the throne room and spend the entire day trying to scratch between your shoulderblades because of all the insects that wished to feast on your sweat?"

Yuugi decided Atem was probably talking about mosquitoes. "They wouldn't come this far out here. They need water. And plants to eat. I studied them in school."

"You do realise that what you just proposed would involve sand, little Aibou. Not necessarily in places that would lend themselves to easy removal."

Yuugi pointed to the cloak still hanging over the gelding's back. Atem stared at him in disbelief.

"You actually intend me to believe - "

Yuugi grinned at him again.

"Did you plan this?" Atem demanded.

"No way. But as long as we're out here - and don't tell me you're afraid of bugging people, because you said yourself the city's in the other direction - why not?" Yuugi scooted into Atem's lap. "_I_ think it sounds like a good idea." And he kissed Atem, hard, on the mouth.

Yuugi did have a way of getting what he wanted where Atem was concerned.

* * *

"No. Absolutely not!"

Yuugi sat back on his haunches, straddled across Atem's lap, and made a face. "You don't even know what I was going to do."

"I can make a perfectly logical conjecture, and the answer is no."

Yuugi rolled his eyes. "Like I said. You don't even know what I was going to do."

"And as I said, I - "

"I wasn't going to do _that._" _Although I definitely wouldn't _mind_ doing that._ "Lighten up and trust me a little. Relax. Okay?"

"Not until you tell me just what, exactly, you plan to do."

Yuugi squirmed a little closer and rested his head against Atem's shoulder. Then he turned it so his mouth was against Atem's ear, and told.

"So. Please?"

There was a long pause, presumably Atem sifting through the data Yuugi had just given him. Then -

"I'm reserving the right to stop you."

"Fair enough. Lay back." Yuugi unhooked his arms from around Atem's waist. Atem stared at him distrustfully. Yuugi slid his arms around Atem's shoulders. _Three steps forward,_ Yuugi thought. _And then one step back. Seriously, I've had enough._

"Listen. I know I was a virgin the first time we ever had sex, but people are a lot more open about this stuff where I'm from. I know what I'm doing. Mostly. And I'm not doing it to hurt you or try to lord over you or something. I'm doing it because I _love_ you, and I want to try something just a little different we might both like. A lot. So just once - if you don't ever do it again - trust me. Please. All right?"

Atem continued to stare at Yuugi with a wary eye. Yuugi sighed. This was not how it worked in the romance novels he and Anzu loved to lampoon. Not only did the romance novels usually feature a pair of protagonists who were completely willing to trust each other no matter what, they also tended to omit the parts involving things like spit and the sand that was going to take hours to wash out of Atem's hair. Yuugi wished he'd thought to take off his wrap to fold under Atem's head and neck. It would have made the cleanup later a great deal easier.

Yuugi squeaked in surprise as he landed against Atem's chest. He boosted himself up on his hands and knees so Atem would be able to breathe. Atem caught Yuugi's shoulder with his hand, keeping Yuugi within inches of Atem's face.

"If you go back on your word - "

"Have I ever gone back on a promise to you?" Yuugi fought to keep from being irritated. Tonight had been wonderful. He didn't want to end it with a fight.

Atem sighed and let his shoulders fall back against the cloak spread on the sand. "You haven't, no."

"Then why are you acting like I'm going to start now?"

Atem didn't answer. He simply stroked the side of Yuugi's face, let his fingers linger at the edge of Yuugi's jaw, trail down over his neck and the top of his shoulder and then down his chest and stomach to hike up the wrap tied around Yuugi's hips.

"Your best and your worst, then, little Aibou."

Yuugi pushed himself back up to fully sitting and then scooted up toward Atem's stomach on his knees. He found the edge of Atem's tunic with his hands and shoved it up to Atem's waist. He toyed with the idea of taking off Atem's belt so he could push the tunic up farther and rejected it. Yuugi let his weight settle backward and let out his second surprised cry in a minute. Atem gasped, and Yuugi saw his eyes squeeze shut. He reached out to touch Atem's face.

_Don't shut me out._

Atem opened his eyes. One of his hands found Yuugi's thigh and then traced the lines of it, moved, and found something more interesting to touch. Tonight, Yuugi thought, was his night for making interesting noises entirely without meaning to. In the course of their usual activities, Atem would have been holding himself up with at least one arm, and sometimes both; he was taking advantage of having both hands free now to do some serious catching-up on his exploration of Yuugi's body. Atem was a lover both curious and thorough, and the few square inches of Yuugi he hadn't managed to map with his fingers in the last six months were undergoing a complete examination now, the texture of Yuugi's skin being stored up with the topography created by his bones and muscles. Yuugi, if asked, would not have lied - he was thoroughly enjoying Atem's attentions. For his own part, Yuugi was using his hands to rock his weight back and up and forward again, and Atem seemed more than happy with it.

In only a few short minutes they were both spent and satisfied. Yuugi tried to curl up on the cloak next to Atem and encountered a slight problem.

"Hey. You. Koi." Yuugi poked Atem playfully in the ribs. "Can you shove over a little?"

Atem arched an eyebrow. "Is that any way to address the man who just made love to you in the middle of the desert against his better judgment, just to make you happy?"

Yuugi rolled his eyes and got up on his knees. Then he fell forward in a parody of a throne-room prostration. "Oh, great koibito, light of my life! D'you think you can spare me just a bit more cloak so I'm not getting sand in - what did you call them? - places that wouldn't lend themselves to easy removal?"

Atem started laughing. "Incorrigible, little Aibou. That's what you are." He did move over to make space for Yuugi to lie next to him. Yuugi cuddled against his side.

"So. Are you ready to admit maybe I'm _not_ out to make a fool of you?"

Atem stroked Yuugi's hair. "I suppose I can't call myself high enough to not tender an apology where it's due."

"Okay, so now repeat after me. 'The next time you come up with some idea that doesn't sound like it's going to kill or maim us both, I promise I'll at least give it a bit of thought.' Go ahead. Your turn."

"Little Aibou . . . "

Yuugi made puppy eyes. "Come on."

Atem sighed and ran his fingers into Yuugi's hair. "I promise to consider you trustworthy."

Yuugi rolled his eyes. "I thought we'd already figured that one out."

"Perhaps."

Yuugi poked Atem in the ribs again. "You know, after a year and a half, you'd think you'd have learned to trust me already."

Atem pulled Yuugi closer and trapped his wrists to keep him from administering any more pokes. "I promise to give consideration where it's due to your suggestions."

"Close enough."

Atem kissed the tip of Yuugi's nose. Yuugi felt it scrunch up almost involuntarily, and then Atem chuckled.

"My little rabbit."

"I think rabbits have more sex than we do."

Atem raised an eyebrow. "Meaning what, little Aibou?"

"Nothing, really. Unless you want to, you know - "

"I think I've had enough for one evening."

Yuugi curled as close as he could. In a few minutes real life would start back up, and they'd have to go back to the palace. He wanted to savour his time away as much as he could.

"Okay." Yuugi sighed, sat up, straightened his wrap. "I guess we should get going."

If he'd only known what the next twenty-four hours would bring, he would have tried to make it last longer.

* * *

"Today's a half-day, Set, yes?"

Set shrugged. "If you wish it, then it must be so."

"I wish it."

Yuugi saw the edge of Mahado's mouth twitch, and the hand that came up to turn a chuckle into a discreet cough. Yuugi bit the insides of his cheeks to hide a grin. It was a good day to be alive, warm and breezy and with the promise of honeyed wine later. The honeyed wine was actually for the council members who would be joining Atem in a friendly game of pick-up sticks, but Yuugi had little doubt Atem would find a way to spoil his favourite slave. He'd started to make a habit of it. Yuugi dropped his eyes as the council broke, then trotted after Atem obediently. Atem reached out, and Yuugi took his hand. They walked to the courtyard in companionable silence, and after getting Atem settled, Yuugi left to retrieve a bowl of plums for the incoming party.

By the time he got back into the courtyard Atem had been joined by Set, Mahado, Isis, Mana, and Siamun. Ankhnadin was also present, although saying he'd joined them seemed like a misnomer to Yuugi; the man who'd gouged one of his own eyes right out of his head was lurking beneath a tree, watching Set and Atem count up sticks - Set's green, the ones in Atem's hands a vivid orange. Yuugi thought they might belong to Mahado, but he wasn't entirely sure. At last Atem shook his head.

"I've fifty here. How many have you?"

"Forty."

"Not nearly enough. Who here has another set we can add?"

Siamun and Isis both shrugged and shook their heads. Mahado shot a glance at Mana, who blushed and shook her head, as well - Mana might once have possessed a set, but it was long gone. Ankhnadin, of course, had little interest in games. Yuugi held up a hesitant hand, like the fabled shy kid in the back of the classroom. Atem glanced in his direction.

"Aibou?"

"I've got a set with sixty sticks in. I know it's not much, but it's something."

Atem considered, then nodded. "Get them, if you would."

Yuugi nodded and went to retrieve the set Atem had given him so long ago. Then, on a hunch, he padded up to Atem's room, and yes, here was Atem's own set. Yuugi added them to his own and hurried back to the courtyard. Atem added the two sets to the stack already on the bench.

"Aibou."

Yuugi jumped. "Mmm?"

"Choose any number between one and fifty, but speak it not. And when you've chosen, tell so."

Yuugi picked twenty-seven. "Okay."

Atem looked at his fellow players. It seemed to be some kind of ritual; Siamun spoke first, and they all answered roundabout - sixteen, forty-four, seven, twenty-eight, thirty-one. Isis said nothing, and when the turn came to Mahado, he first hesitated and then shook his head. Yuugi breathed a sigh of relief when Mahado's decision went unquestioned. Atem looked at Yuugi expectantly.

"Um. Am I giving the number now?"

"Yes."

"Twenty-seven. Set was closest."

Mahado shook his head again. "Atem was. Closest without going over is how it's done."

"Okay, Atem, then. Number's still twenty-seven."

Atem reached for the stack of sticks, then paused. His hands weren't large enough to encompass them all. "Set."

Set slid his hands under the pile. Atem left his hands on top.

"A three-count?"

Set nodded. Yuugi felt his eyes go wide as they picked up their massive multi-set game - two hundred sticks in all - and held them over the large clay tablet they were using as a playing surface.

"One, and two, and three."

"And may the luck all go to me," Mahado added, as the sticks clattered down onto the tablet. Yuugi thought he could see an impish twinkle in Mahado's eyes. Atem gave him a _look_.

"Let the gods forbid. But if they're so disposed . . . " The _look_ faltered. " . . . then let them strike me cold?"

Mahado covered his eyes with one hand as Isis and Siamun tried to hide their chuckles. "'Then let them strike _you_ cold.' Honestly, Atem, if you don't remember the charm you're trying to cast, don't cast it. One of these days you're going to get yourself killed doing something like that. Didn't you pay any attention to this when you studied it?"

Atem leered at Set. "I was too busy paying attention to that lovely expanse of neck just across yonder."

Yuugi covered his mouth with his hand automatically. Set glared. Mahado looked thoughtful.

"It is rather longer than the usual, isn't it?"

"Quite."

"All the better to tease with, I suppose."

Set turned red. Yuugi had to fight down a squeak. Mahado's comment - neutral enough on the surface - could be taken any one of half a dozen ways, and Set had apparently elected for the most questionable one. "If you think - "

"Peace," Mahado said. "Fighting on a holiday ruins a man's health." He cast a glance at Atem. Atem glanced back. Set glared.

"Atem - "

"I said nothing."

_Wow,_ Yuugi thought. _I think he might actually be doing something_ mature_. Did a world just end somewhere?_

**Don't bet on it.**

Atem's grin turned devilish. "I prefer to stay out of marital spats."

The courtyard filled with laughter. Mana rested her forehead against Mahado's shoulder. Isis put a hand on Atem's arm as she laughed. Even Siamun was fighting a fit of chuckles. Only Ankhnadin and Set remained silent, and their glares were almost identical. Mahado wound down to chuckles, then leaned over and whispered something in Set's ear. Yuugi wished Mahado hadn't put up his hand to block his mouth; there was no lipreading behind a cupped hand. Set snorted laughter and rocked forward, one hand coming up to cover his mouth. His eyes squeezed shut, then opened. Yuugi had to restrain himself from asking aloud how blind these people could be; Atem's eyes were red, Set's blue, but when they laughed, there could be no doubt the shape was the same. Mahado held up his hands in a caricature of a shrug.

"It's true, is it not?"

Set didn't answer. He was busy trying to catch his breath. Atem only looked perplexed.

"What did you _say_ to him?"

Mahado gave Atem a _look_. "If I wanted you to know what I'd said, Atem, don't you think I'd have said it aloud?"

Atem shrugged. Set finally got control over himself and forced his face straight. The tension diffused, Yuugi trotted off to retrieve bowls and a wineskin. He considered the group in the courtyard, and then took a second, as well. Better prepared and unneeded than to need it and not have it.

The games lasted perhaps an hour, and at the end of that time, Yuugi was glad he'd brought the second wineskin. Only Ankhnadin had abstained from the food and drink Yuugi had brought, and the wine had gone quickly. Yuugi waited until the last of the group - Mahado - had gone, and then plunked down next to Atem on the bench. Atem raised his eyebrows and nodded toward the wineskin. Yuugi refilled his bowl, and then poured a little for himself. He held up his bowl.

"To Set's neck."

Atem laughed and touched the edge of Yuugi's bowl with his own. "To Egypt."

"To Egypt," Yuugi agreed. "And Japan."

"And Japan," Atem added. "To the peace and prosperity of both our countries."

They drank in a companionable silence. Yuugi, who'd poured only half a bowl for himself, finished first. At last Atem set his bowl inside Yuugi's, and took Yuugi's hands.

"Little Aibou." He paused, frowned, and changed his mind. "Yuu-gi."

Yuugi nodded. Atem ran his thumbs over the backs of Yuugi's hands.

"Some time ago, we had a discussion about our intentions, each for the other. I told you then that there was something I wished to wait for before raising a point with you."

"Yeah," Yuugi agreed. "I remember that. You said you weren't waiting for some perfect moment, you were just waiting for something specific."

Atem nodded. "I'd complete that conversation now, if you'd concur."

Yuugi nodded. "Okay."

Atem looked down at their hands, linked together between them on the bench. Then his eyes flickered back to Yuugi's face.

"It's tempting to hide now behind pretty words that mean nothing," Atem admitted. "I've not your courage when it comes to plain speech, little Yuu-gi."

Yuugi shrugged. "Just spit it out. That's what I do. Sometimes it gets me in trouble, but - " Yuugi shrugged. "You've got my attention. Let's have it."

Yuugi saw Atem swallow hard. Nervous? He was acting like the fate of the world depended on what he said next.

"You know I'm fond of you," Atem said. "More - that you come second only to my duty in terms of love."

Yuugi nodded.

"And I know that you'd consider - if not yet fully accept - Egypt as your home."

Yuugi nodded again. It had been slow in coming, had required him to think "well, that's it, I'm stuck here forever" more than once before it really sank in, but yes - he could call this place home. There was no Anzu or Jounouchi, no Honda or Ryou or Otogi, but he had friends here - and Atem, whose fingers were actually _trembling_ in Yuugi's own. Yuugi pulled one of his hands away, reached up to Atem's face, and brushed the fringe out of his face in the old familiar gesture. Then he let his hand fall back on top of Atem's.

"Even longer ago than our discussion, we made an agreement," Atem continued. "I asked to court you."

Yuugi had the feeling he knew where this conversation might be going. He also had the feeling his part in it was to nod and look serious, and so he fulfilled that part before waiting for Atem to go on.

"You asked me then for the definition of such, and I gave it to you. Little Aibou - Yuu-gi - if you'd allow me - I'd like to fulfil the second part of that promise. Mahado's agreed to bless us, and Set to witness it."

Yuugi felt his mouth fall open in surprise. He'd known for a few sentences what Atem must be asking, but hearing it actually said aloud was still something of a shock.

Atem must have taken Yuugi's silence as a no, because when he spoke again his voice was slightly panicked. "You'd want for nothing - I'd remain faithful to you - and if it's your family that concerns you, I can send a messenger to your country - to be allied with them."

Yuugi could see it all behind his eyes, in his head. Yes - to be equal with Atem officially, as fully as anyone could be, to be able to really put his mind to work to help Atem keep the country peaceful and happy instead of doing dumb-work day after day, to leave behind the worry of a public facade and hold Atem's hand wherever he liked - yes. Yes, _yes_, and the first thing he'd do would be make sure nothing could happen to Atem because of that one-eyed bastard who -

- except it hadn't happened that way.

Yuugi looked down at their linked hands. The edges of their fingers blurred, fuzzed out, blended together, disappeared. Atem raised a hand and put it under Yuugi's chin.

"Little Aibou!"

Yuugi blinked away his tears, then rubbed at them with the heel of his hand. He took a deep breath.

" . . . I can't."

It was Atem's turn to sit, shocked into silence. Yuugi breathed again.

"If it was just about you and me I'd say yes so fast you wouldn't believe it. But - it's not."

Atem nodded. Yuugi saw tears gathering at the corners of his eyes and reached out to wipe them away.

"It's just - I - you have to - I can't - "

Atem squeezed Yuugi's hand. "Take a deep breath." His voice wavered as he said it. Yuugi did as instructed, and let it out.

"There's something I should have told you a long, long time ago," Yuugi said. "Something that changes everything."

Atem only looked at him, and this was another way of defining what had just happened; at any other time he would have come back with an amiable "well, what is it?" Yuugi pushed his hair out of his face and continued.

"I told you I'm not from around here. And this is probably going to sound crazy, but - I'm not from this _time_, either. I'm from so far in the future you can't even begin to imagine what it's like. I know what's in your future." The tears came thicker this time, and Yuugi didn't bother trying to hide them. "And I know I'm not it."

"And you have reason to believe that changing my future would cause harm." Atem's voice was soft.

Yuugi nodded. It would cause harm, all right. The end of the world as everyone knew it, for a start. But he owed Atem an explanation, and now he would give it.

"People in my time study people from your time. They're called _archaeologists_. My grandpa used to be one, before he got married, and - okay, there's this legend, about your tomb. Nobody goes in and comes out alive. And for three thousand years, that was true. But my grandpa - Jii-chan - he wanted to find out why. So he went in."

Atem's face darkened. "Your grandfather was a tomb robber?"

Yuugi shook his head. "I mean - I guess - I don't know. It depends on your perspective, kind of. The things that come out of the tombs aren't used for personal gain - they're used so we can understand how people lived then - well - now. And he was a lot younger back then. He probably thought it was exciting, checking out some cursed tomb." He took a deep and wavery breath. "Anyway, he nearly died, too. When he told me about it a lot of years later, he said he only lived because someone took his hand and pulled him out of a pit. Someone - someone who looked like you."

"I see little reason to save the life of a tomb robber."

"He wasn't robbing the tomb," Yuugi said. "Just . . . taking a look around, I guess. Anyway, this spirit - you - led him to this gold box - I think it's the one you use for your kohl, actually. I remember thinking that when I saw it here. He brought it back to Japan, and tried to solve the puzzle that was inside - a puzzle made out of this." Yuugi reached out and touched the God Pyramid. "But he couldn't. Nobody could. And then when I was a really little kid, I found it and solved it."

Atem looked faintly disgusted. Yuugi felt two tears go rolling down his cheeks, too warm in the chilly tracks earlier tears had left, and he looked away. Losing Atem's regard hurt more than Yuugi would have ever believed he could hurt and still survive. Far from explaining well, he'd probably just gotten himself killed. But there was no point in not continuing.

"Something really bad is going to happen here - something I wish I could change, but - if I do, then my world is going to end. I mean that literally. There's an evil power that's going to be unleashed in my land, in my time, and only you can stop it. That's why the puzzle was so important. That's why you looked so familiar to me the first time I met you. I'd already met you - in spirit. Completing the puzzle let me call your spirit to help me. You helped me and my friends keep my country from being destroyed. If I change things here, you won't be there when we need you." Yuugi considered explaining the paradox that would be the real cause of all the trouble - if Atem survived now, Yuugi would never have reason to even touch the gold box, meaning he would never come to the past and save Atem's life. But saying so would mean admitting that he had to let Atem die, and so he rejected the idea even as admitting it to himself made something twist painfully in his middle. Atem was frowning more than ever.

"I returned from the field of reeds in the hands of a tomb robber to aid a country I never knew?"

Yuugi shook his head. "It's way more complicated than that. I - I probably shouldn't tell you why."

Atem nodded. The disgust had left his face, and this, at least, calmed Yuugi a little. "I don't know what I think about archaeology, really. When I was younger I thought it was really cool - you know, seeing all this stuff that's so different from things in my time, and how people here lived and everything - but now that I know you, now that I know what it really means . . . anyway. I think that's why I landed here. We were studying this writing that was found in your tomb - in one of my classes, you know - and I tried to translate it. It was something about 'your filthy hands mean no time is yours' or something like that. I don't remember it exactly. But before you left my friends and me, for the afterlife, you know - you told me I could keep the box. And when I'd translated as much as I could, I put the _paper_ - that's kind of like papyrus - into the box, to worry about later. And I think what happened is I cursed myself, and ended up here somehow."

"You weren't party to the removal, I take it."

Yuugi was startled into shaky laughter even as tears still ran down his face - probably not the best action under the circumstances, but he couldn't help it. "No way. My _dad_ wasn't even born then." Mutou Shigeru had still been almost two years in the future. Atem nodded his understanding, if not approval.

"Anyway - if I tell you this you're going to think I'm just making stuff up to get out of hock," Yuugi said dispiritedly. That Yuugi was from the future Atem seemed able to accept, but the rest -

"You may as well tell it."

"The thing is. The thing is - I know the whole field-of-reeds thing. But you know the belief that you can be reincarnated again and again and in about three thousand years you'll be human again?"

Atem nodded. "Such may also be true."

"Such _is_ true," Yuugi said. "Set, and Isis, and Shada, and Karim - I know all of them. Siamun, too. Because - he's my grandfather. That's why you saved him, and not any of the others who tried to take anything away. At least, that's what he thinks."

"It's plausible enough, if what you say is true."

"I'll swear it on whatever you want me to."

"Your own heart, that a lie strike your soul into Ammit's claws where you sit."

Yuugi put his hand over his heart. "I swear it on my heart. Every word. My soul, too."

Atem nodded. "You said nothing of Mahado or Ankhnadin."

"I'm not going to say anything about Mahado or Ankhnadin. If either of them are alive again in my time, I never met them. They could be anywhere, really. Kaiba and Jii-chan - Set and Siamun, I mean - they're both Japanese. But Ishizu and Shaadi and Rishid - "

"Are these the others?"

Yuugi nodded. "They're all still from Egypt."

Atem looked down at their hands, now sitting a little apart from each other. "And you dare say nothing for fear I'll change it, either inadvertently or by will."

Yuugi nodded regretfully. "If I could change it - "

Atem put his fingers over Yuugi's lips. "It's a hard future you speak of. If I must face it, allow me to do so as every man since Ra created man - unknowing of my day or my hour."

Yuugi nodded again. Then his shoulders hitched. The tears that had inched their way down his cheeks in slow pairs all through his telling turned into a flood. Atem pulled Yuugi into his arms. Yuugi felt something damp touch his bare shoulder and understood that Atem, too, had lost his battle to tears.

"I knew long ago that you understood well the responsibilities of state," he whispered, his voice hoarse. Yuugi didn't answer. He was too busy crying for the loss of everything - home, friends, family, lover. When he stopped at last his stomach hurt and it was just a little hard to breathe. The last time Yuugi remembered crying that way, he'd been cowered against a locked door after Atem asked the question that had brought them both to this place now, and even remembering that hurt.

"Koibito," Yuugi whispered, and then he, like Atem had earlier, paused. "Pharaoh."

"I think I like 'koi-bito' better."

"Koibito, then," Yuugi said, still whispering into Atem's ear. "I just want you to know - in my heart - it's yes."

Atem's face was buried against the side of Yuugi's neck, but his words were still clear enough. "Do you say such is true?"

"Truer than anything I've ever said in my life."

"Then I go to my fate with your love in my heart, and can fulfil my duty happily, when it's asked of me."

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," Yuugi said, still in his own tear-hoarse whisper. "I hate this."

"You have your duty to your country, little Aibou, my Yuu-gi," Atem whispered back. "As I have mine."

* * *

Yuugi sensed Atem in the hallway before he heard the knock on the door. "It's open."

Atem stepped into the room that was no longer Yuugi's. His small pile of personals had all been stacked carefully in the basket with the half-finished Mahjongg set, ready for someone to carry away and burn. He'd only been waiting for the last thing, and this was it. Yuugi stood up and let Atem lead him into the hall. Then he grabbed Atem's arm.

"Atem."

Atem looked at him silently.

"I call off."

Atem shook his head. Yuugi looked down at the one thing he'd held back, twined around his fingers.

"I want you to have this." He took Atem's hand and turned it palm up, and let the jade bracelet slip into Atem's hand. "You were born in the morning, weren't you?"

Atem nodded.

"Then your guardian is this one - Tenou, the sky," Yuugi said. "Kind of funny, actually. Mine's Chi - earth. Isn't there an Egyptian legend about earth and sky being lovers?"

Atem nodded. "Geb and Nut, yes." He was walking slowly, much more than his usual habit. Yuugi did not fail to notice he hadn't undressed for the night.

"You know something else - it kind of fits. You having Tenou as a guardian, I mean. Because the word for king - _tennou_ - sounds almost exactly the same. They look almost the same in Roman letters, too. Maybe it's a sign of something." Yuugi's words were tiny in the silence. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the palace so empty.

"Perhaps." Atem stopped walking. He lowered his head. Yuugi saw him swallow the way people did when they were trying not to cry and put a hand on his arm.

"Atem?"

Atem pulled Yuugi close and kissed him. It was, Yuugi knew, the last time, and so he put into it everything he had - all his love and all his spirit. Atem stroked his hair. Yuugi returned the favour.

"Don't forget me," he whispered, and Atem held him closer.

"Never."

Atem did not understand the tears Yuugi shed then, and Yuugi would not explain them. And so presently they continued on their way, in silence now, until the last turn into the final corridor, and there Yuugi stopped them. He took the jade bracelet looped around Atem's fingers and searched for Tenou's bead. He kissed it, and then folded Atem's fingers back over it.

"It's not really important if you believe in them, you know," Yuugi said, as his fingers left the bracelet for the last time. "They believe in you, and that's what matters."

Atem said nothing. He only led Yuugi past a pair of torches that should not have been lit at this hour, and into the throne room.

There were no slaves present, but the council was assembled, all of them in full formal dress. Yuugi stopped in the accustomed spot for people on trial. He had no illusions about what he was here for. Atem seated himself on the throne. Karim took a step forward.

"You are Mutou Yuugi, called Aibou among us?"

Yuugi nodded. There was no point in lying. The only real question, as far as he was concerned, was how he would die; would they send him to the town square to be whipped, like Madu? Would he be told to commit suicide, like those involved in the conspiracy against Ramses III? Or would he simply see Atem raise his arm to motion Mahado or Set forward, and then sometime tonight or tomorrow his soulless body would be burned with the kitchen refuse, like the Ophirite captain who had been killed in this room? And if it was that last, who would he be? Three thousand years from now, would he play a card that was really himself?

"You know why you have been brought here. Are you aware of the charges against you?"

Yuugi took a deep and trembling breath. "Not exactly."

"You have been accused of abetting a tomb robber. The punishment for this is death."

Yuugi nodded. He knew that.

"What have you to say to these charges?"

Another of those deep, trembling breaths. Once he had hoped to not die screaming - sixteen months and a thousand years ago, when Atem had played a punishment game against him. Now he hoped only to not beg. He would not embarrass Atem by whining and blubbering in the face of death. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

Karim stepped back. Mahado stepped forward. The questions began, the neat, methodical cross-examination that Yuugi had heard Mahado give dozens of times. Yuugi answered them all. He saw the look flitting from one council member to the next and knew they would not acquit him just as surely as he knew his own name. At last Atem stood. Yuugi sent a frantic glance in Mahado's direction, thinking with everything in him, hoping some last trace of the Ring's power would bind them one last time.

_Don't make him do this. If you really love him, don't make him say it._

Yuugi could tell - could feel, somehow - that his thoughts were not being picked up, and he wanted to cry for frustration. As a rule it was Atem's duty to pass final judgment, but on half a dozen occasions that Yuugi could remember clearly that judgment had been passed by Set, or occasionally Siamun. He saw Atem swallow hard, watched him take a deep and trembling breath of his own.

"We have deliberated these things in the light," Atem began, and then stopped. The council as one made no sign that they noticed. "With all circumstances accounted for and considered, I sentence the slave Yuu-gi, called Aibou - "

Atem didn't bother trying to hide the reason for his troubles; the only motion he made in that direction was to bow his head, to take Yuugi out of his immediate line of sight. Mahado put a hand on his shoulder. Yuugi thought he could read a kind of sadness in Mahado's eyes - _you were so good for him. Why did you have to go and fuck everything up?_

"I sentence the slave Yuu-gi to exile in the country of Japan." The words came in a single hurried rush. Yuugi drew a breath that hitched in his chest. Atem's eyes met his, and Yuugi could see his tears. He felt tears of his own burning in his eyes. Atem could not pardon a tomb robber . . . but there was this thing, this one last thing, that he could do. He could rig the punishment in order to send Yuugi home.

The council gathered around Yuugi in a loose circle - Atem, Isis, Karim, Mahado, Ankhnadin, Shada, Set. They stood each an arm's length from the other, all of them solemn. Atem pulled Yuugi close as the rest prepared themselves for what was coming. Yuugi hugged him tightly. There was a breath against his ear, so quiet he almost didn't hear it - but almost a year and a half of sleeping in Atem's bed, next to a man who had a habit of speaking when Yuugi was half-asleep, had prepared him for it perfectly.

"I love you, little Aibou."

Yuugi tilted his head so his mouth would be next to Atem's ear. "I love you, too."

Atem was the one who let go first. He stepped into the place Set and Isis had left for him and raised a single trembling hand to the side of the God Pyramid. Set drew the Rod. Ankhnadin swept his hair out of his face. Isis touched the Necklace. Shada and Mahado both followed Atem's suit. Whatever they intended to do, Yuugi thought, they expected to use the Millennium Items to do it. There was a pause as they all focused their power, and then they joined hands, Isis placing hers overtop the hand Karim used to hold the Scale.

"We execute this punishment as the will of Ma'at," Mahado said, "to protect this land and all who dwell herein."

Yuugi felt the tangled curls on his head blow in a wind that should not have been possible in the closed throne room. And it was no ordinary breeze, was it? No. But he knew what it was, all the same.

It was a window fan.

He turned around and was somehow not surprised to see a large, blurred-edge hole in reality.

"That's my room!"

And it was - the orange bedspread, the pressed-wood desk with his calculus book still sitting on it next to a very familiar gold box. His school jacket was still hung over the back of the desk chair, schoolbag leaned carelessly against the bottommost drawer. Yuugi stared at it, entranced. It all looked so familiar, so _normal_.

"Go now, if you'd go at all." Atem's voice was strained.

Yuugi reached out one hand to the hole, and then drew it back. What was on the other side of that hole could be nothing more than his own hopeful imagination filling in the darkness. But if after two years he'd learned nothing about risking it all, then what was the point in this entire thing? He was leaving so much behind . . . and yet if he stayed they'd only kill him anyway. That was the law.

"Yuu-gi!"

Yuugi twisted with one foot in Domino City, 2003, one still on the stone floor of an Egyptian throne room sometime around 1000 B.C., halfway through his step back into his old life. He was helpless to resist that cry; could not have ignored it for worlds. There was nothing he could change, that much he knew, and when Bakura came he would undoubtedly have to stand to the side and watch it all play out, but maybe -

Atem's eyes rolled up.

Yuugi's own eyes went wide. Of course - Atem was the one holding the door open, because only the Pyramid had ever actually _belonged_ to Yuugi. If it was true that memory worked both forward and backward - and Yuugi had reason to believe it was so - then only the Puzzle could provide the door to Yuugi's time, because only the Puzzle would have access to Yuugi's memories of modern-day Japan. But holding that door open was a strain for a teenaged body, and the effort had sent Atem into a faint.

Yuugi might still have had the time to dive back through if the rest of the council had stayed steady. And in spite of their alarm they did all hold their places - except Mahado. Yuugi should have known he would be the one to break contact, to make a dive of his own to keep Atem from hitting the floor.

He had enough time to see Mahado's arm slide around Atem's shoulders, and then Yuugi fell into darkness . . .

. . . and through forever.

* * *

Yuugi buried his head under his pillow. The light rapping he could hear was driving him crazy. He wondered if maybe the slaves in charge of the shutters hadn't closed them properly, and if so, he was going to have to get up to pull them shut from the inside before he went insane.

"Yuugi! Hey! _Yuugi!_ We're late!"

That wasn't Atem's voice.

Yuugi's eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was an alarm clock. The second was Jounouchi, clinging to the thick branch of the cherry tree and rapping on Yuugi's bedroom window.

"Come on! We've got an English exam at eight o'clock!"

Yuugi looked at the clock. Seven-thirty. He should have been up an hour ago.

He was up in the dismayed flash only late schoolboys could manage, already reaching for his dress shirt - short sleeves, summer uniform.

"Meet me downstairs!"

Jounouchi made himself gone. Yuugi yanked his uniform jacket over his shirt, and then stopped.

His jacket was caught on his ear.

Yuugi approached the mirror cautiously. The wild hairstyle he'd favoured was gone, replaced by a short, unruly cap of black curls, just the way his grandmother had worn her hair until it started falling out. And there was a small silver hoop earring in his right ear.

Yuugi had never had a pierced ear.

"Yuugi! You're late!"

Jii-chan's voice, and it was speaking Japanese. Yuugi tore himself away from the mirror and went looking for his trousers. They had to be around somewhere.

He had them halfway to his knees when he realised he'd forgotten underwear, and had to start the whole process over again.

**Way to go, genius.**

_Oh, shut up._

Yuugi crammed his calculus book into his schoolbag. Had he finished his homework? He couldn't remember. He'd just have to hope. He pulled his trainers on, tied them, darted into the kitchen, grabbed his bento box and a piece of toast, and pounded down the stairs.

"Thanks - love you - see you tonight!" he shot at the barely-seen figure behind the counter, and then he was out the door, still marvelling in some corner of his mind at how _normal_ all this was, and how weird to not be waking up in a large feather bed right about now. What was even weirder was Jounouchi's lack of comment over the abrupt change in style. It was as though Yuugi with short hair and an earring was nothing at all new.

"Where's Anzu?"

"Getting a ride from devil-spawn." There was a derision in Jounouchi's voice that Yuugi could not interpret. He wondered how long he'd been gone. Not so very long, surely - this was their last year of school - and yet everything was so _different_.

They skidded to a stop in front of the school building. People were still streaming in, and Yuugi breathed a deep sigh of relief. It had to be deep; whatever physical changes he'd undergone in Egypt, it was clear none of them had come back with him. He reached up for the leather cord that should have hung around his neck, with Mahado's charm and Atem's ring, and it, too, was gone. He felt a pang, a strange kind of homesickness.

_It wasn't all a dream, was it? Couldn't have been._

A motorbike pulled up in front. Yuugi heard Jounouchi give a derisive snort, and saw Anzu swinging her leg over the back.

"Anzu!"

Anzu saw him, gave him a sunny smile, and then kissed the driver, who had brown hair much too short to be Bakura's. Yuugi watched the bike pull away.

_What's going _on_ here?_

* * *

The day passed with surprising quickness. Yuugi was pretty sure he'd aced the English exam - it was a simple recap of how to use plurals in conjunction with the various conjugations of "to be" - and calculus turned out to be a laugh, because the teacher was absent due to illness. Yuugi took the period to finish his half-completed homework.

It was a Saturday, and so classes were all running short. It was sometime around twelve-thirty that Yuugi had his next big shock of the day.

"You all remember the panel we discussed yesterday, I'm sure . . . today we'll be watching the documentary that was on television last night."

This, Yuugi thought, was where the real weird began. The main interviewee of the documentary was a man named Antonio Perez, who was apparently in charge of the dig at Atem's tomb. He looked to Yuugi like a kindred spirit - dark jeans, wristbands, hair whose original colour could not be accurately pegged for the amount of green and orange streaks in it - and Yuugi was disposed to trust him. And yet - if this man knew what he was talking about, and surely he must, then why did he make no mention of the tomb's collapse? If anyone would have known about it, it would be Mr. Antonio Perez, whose word was second only to that of Zahi Hawass where Atem's tomb was concerned. He could barely concentrate on the rest of the careful narration, and got hopelessly lost just trying to take notes. He'd have to copy from Anzu later.

The bell to freedom rang at last. Yuugi just managed to stay out of Ms. Miyamoto's clutches. Better the company of his friends, his three good friends he'd thought to never see again.

"So how was your date with Beelzebub last night?" Jounouchi, that note back in his voice. Anzu's lips pressed together.

"My date with _Seto_ was fine. I wish you'd - "

"_Kaiba_?"

The gaze Anzu turned on Yuugi was both puzzled and a little impatient. "How many other boys named Seto do we know?"

_She was dating Bakura. I know she was. I _know_ it._

Anzu tucked her hair behind her ear. "Anyway, since you asked . . . he's pretty - well - _interesting_ when he's sleep-deprived. I'm kind of sorry the day of sloth and debauchery is tomorrow."

Yuugi swiveled his head again. He must have heard wrong. "The day of _what_?"

Anzu started laughing. "The Day of Sloth and Debauchery, Yuugi. I told you about this. The Khrystall Rhelm games are always released on a Saturday, and on Sunday he just lays around and doesn't do anything until noon at the earliest because it's the first chance he actually has in a week to sleep through the night. You're a real space-case today, you know that?"

Yuugi shrugged. In the Domino he'd left, there had been no game called Khrystall Rhelm, and certainly not a series of them. And yet - he _remembered_ them. He remembered standing in line for twelve hours for _The Legend of Khrystall Rhelm: Rhelmas Quest_, and having a playthrough with Bakura and Jounouchi for _Mystic Dragon._ He also remembered the vast amounts of disappointment online when playthrough gamers had discovered the dragon didn't show up until the end credits, and then only for players who got a score of 500 000 or above. He remembered Anzu telling him about Kaiba's reaction to the online theorists who swore up and down that Setji and Temi were lovers, and Anzu's reaction when Yuugi had told her outright that anyone with half a brain in their head could tell they were brothers and just didn't know it yet.

Impossible. But true.

A sound broke out of Anzu's schoolbag. It sounded incredibly familiar, but it wasn't until Yuugi realised the words were in English that he knew where he'd heard it before.

" - ninja teens! Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines! Raphael is cool, but rude! Michaelangelo is a - "

Anzu rooted quickly through her bag and pulled out a mobile phone that was definitely not hers. Anzu's phone was a cheerful red; this one was plain black and silver. She flipped the top open.

"Hey, kiddo! What's up?"

Yuugi raised his eyebrows. _Curiouser and curiouser,_ one of his favourite childhood books had said, and that was definitely true. As far as he could tell, Anzu was chatting with Mokuba, and from what she was saying, he wasn't in Domino. At last she said her goodbyes and hit END.

"Whose mobile?"

"Seto's," Anzu said, as though it should have been perfectly self-evident - and probably was. "I nicked it out of his coat earlier because I knew if he had it somebody'd call him and that'd be the end of getting him to take a nap before the release tonight. He said he'll call you around four-thirty to give you guys directions, by the way. We're having pizza."

Yuugi nodded and tried to look like he understood. Something in him told him he was supposed to be going to a release party Kaiba was holding for some charity, but Yuugi couldn't remember where it was, or when, or why he was supposed to go. If he could have remembered those things, he thought, Anzu's statement probably would have made perfect sense.

"Here. Check it out. Mokuba sent him a picture. I guess his host family took him to the beach for this local radio thing." Anzu hit a couple of buttons, turned Kaiba's phone on its side, and opened it up. Yuugi was somehow not at all surprised that Kaiba had an Internet phone - nor was he surprised to see the people standing around Mokuba on what he somehow knew was an American beach.

The girl standing next to him had a mess of unruly brown hair and a mischievous light in her eyes that Yuugi knew would never completely fade. Standing behind them were two men, one more easily recognisable than the other, but both of them familiar. One had a long face and dark skin, and Yuugi had only ever seen him in someone else's memories. The other wore a smile truer than any Yuugi had ever seen on his face. There were laugh lines at the corners of his eyes instead of scars, and his hair - a colour that couldn't decide if it wanted to be purple or black - was pulled into a ponytail instead of hanging loose, but Yuugi knew him instantly anyway.

Anzu tapped the screen, pointing out people for Jounouchi's and Honda's benefit. The girl was Madeleine, the dark man Basir, the long-haired man Matthew. Yuugi knew their true names, one and all, and was not at all surprised when Anzu - chattering happily away on this new track - called the girl "Mannie" and then said Matthew's students had taken to calling him Old Mad Hatter after one of them had revealed her mother played Alice in an English department stage production of Lewis Carroll's works under his tutelage. _Mad Hatter . . . Mahado._ It made perfect sense, in a weird kind of way. Anzu could happily have continued in this vein for some time if the mobile hadn't rung again. This time Yuugi recognised the song as being from one of Anzu's beloved musicals. The voice was weirdly familiar. Yuugi couldn't place the single line of lyric before Anzu picked up.

"Hi, Isaac." Anzu rolled her eyes and made a face. "Uh-huh. You're still trying to bring him over to the Dark Side, huh?" Yuugi watched her changing facial expressions with no small amount of pleasure. He'd first missed Anzu's silly physical humour, and then had started to forget it. "Isaac, it's about _a chess tournament_. Of course he likes it. Isn't that what the military calls a backdoor attack?" A pause. Anzu laughed. "Whatever. I'll tell him. Right. Uh-huh. Bye. See you tonight."

Anzu ended the call, considered the mobile, and then shut it off. Jounouchi raised his eyebrows.

"Kaiba's phone isn't turned on? Isn't that a sign of the end times or something?"

Anzu rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not being his secretary." She paused. "He really needs to stop letting other people pick his ringtones. One of these days somebody's going to put something awful on there and get him in a lot of trouble."

"Who's Isaac?" _Madu, son of Isaaq,_ Yuugi thought, and felt a chill go down his spine. And yet he couldn't help asking.

"He was - well, he's the American voice actor for Setji. But he's doing a show tour right now, and that's what we went to see last night. _Aida._ He's playing Radames. He loves it. It's one of the first times he's ever gotten a role that wasn't for a teenager or a drag queen."

"You actually dragged Kaiba to a show that isn't Godzilla the Musical?" Honda's eyebrows looked ready to disappear into his hair. Anzu shook her head.

"He kind of had to go. He and Isaac are pretty good friends. Well - as far as Seto _has_ friends, anyway. I think he liked it, though."

Yuugi was frowning. He'd bet a great deal that Isaac had a small white scar by his left eye and curiously feminine habits. _Call it a hunch,_ he thought. "Isn't that the show about Vietnam?"

Anzu shook her head. "That's _Miss Saigon_. Aida's the one about the Nubian princess who gets enslaved and falls in love with - I don't think he's _actually_ heir to the throne, but he's supposed to marry the Egyptian princess, so that makes him pharaoh, right?"

Yuugi nodded. "Once they're married he'd be the crown prince, yeah."

Anzu picked up as though she'd never left off. "Okay, crown-prince-to-be, then. Except the whole thing was set up by his father, who's trying to kill the pharaoh, so Radames calls it all off, and then he and Aida both get killed for being traitors. Except what always bothered me about that," she continued, "is that in the original opera Aida committed _suicide_. Radames was buried alive, and Aida sneaked into the tomb so she could die with him. Call me a purist, I guess."

Yuugi couldn't help himself anymore. "Gosh, why does this sound so familiar?"

Jounouchi and Honda both snorted. Anzu gave Yuugi a _look_ just as he realised that Atem had never told them about Mahado. Not in the Domino he'd been zapped out of. Except . . . all three of them were acting like they knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You should have seen it, Yuugi. It was _beautiful_. Here, hold on. Isaac sent me some bites I could use for ringtones." Anzu pulled out her own phone and slid it open. She ran her fingers over the touch-buttons. "Here you go - it's not from last night's show, but it's the same cast."

_Nothing can be altered, there is nothing to decide  
No escape, no change of heart, nor anyplace to hide  
You are all I ever want, but this I am denied  
Sometimes in my darkest thoughts I wish I'd never learned  
What it is to be in love and have that love returned  
Is it written in the stars? Are we -_

Anzu snapped the phone shut. "Yuugi, are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"Just for a second - you looked absolutely _awful_."

Yuugi forced his face into a grin. "Gosh, Anzu, thanks."

"Not that way," Anzu said. "More like somebody just punched you in the stomach and you weren't expecting it."

"Uh - no big deal. Something I have to do before tonight, that's all." No big deal? Who was he kidding? He'd called it, hadn't he? _Why does this sound so familiar?_ Only because he'd lived it, that was all.

Anzu either didn't catch the lie or decided it wasn't worth calling him on. They turned down the last street to the shop.

"You might want to take your earring out tonight and put in a stud, by the way, Yuugi. We're expecting a really big crowd." Anzu grinned. "And don't forget you're emcee for the big fight."

" . . . big fight?" This, at least, sounded somewhat familiar.

"Setji vs. Anju," Anzu reminded him. "¥200 per person to watch me kick some guy's butt, money going to the Wishing Well Foundation just like admission is. Me against Seto if I can talk him into a pair of combat boots, and me against Isaac if I can't."

"You can," Jounouchi said, and made a face. "I think by now he's just pretending he doesn't care when you're pissed at him."

"How would _you_ know?"

Yuugi stepped between them. "Guys. Don't fight."

Jounouchi looked ready to pursue a tussle anyway. Honda restrained him with a hand on his shoulder. They all stopped to say their goodbyes. Yuugi paused at the door to the shop.

"Anzu?"

Anzu looked up from reshouldering her bag. "Hmm?"

"How's Bakura?"

Anzu hoisted her bag into a more comfortable position. "I got an e-mail from him yesterday. He said he really thinks going back to Tokyo was the right thing to do. You guys were right. Oh - and he's going to try to make it up here for Golden Week for a couple of days, but don't count on it for sure yet."

Yuugi nodded. In the world he'd left, Bakura had never gone back home . . . but then, what else was new? Things had changed for reasons he couldn't even begin to understand. What was one more on the pile?

"See you tonight!"

Yuugi nodded. He was going to have to hurry if he was supposed to drag Jii-chan out of here by four-thirty.

There was a light on in the inventory room. Yuugi called a perfunctory greeting in that direction as he pounded up the stairs. He didn't want to face anyone else. Not yet.

"I'll forgive you your hurry this morning, but is that really any way to greet someone?"

Yuugi stopped dead in the middle of the staircase, eyes wide. That . . . hadn't sounded like Jii-chan. His bag slid off his shoulder and hit the stair riser with a meaningless thud. Yuugi turned, very slowly indeed, to look back down the staircase. Nobody there . . . and yet. Yuugi left his bag abandoned on the risers and plodded, a stair at a time, back to the bottom. His legs did not want to carry him around the corner into the understair inventory room. Yuugi forced them. After all he'd done, he ought to have enough courage for that.

Atem was smiling at him, hanging off the ladder to the top shelf, free arm held out the way Jii-chan's had always been when Yuugi was a little boy. Yuugi's semi-paralysis was broken. He darted the four steps across the room as Atem hopped off the ladder. Yuugi buried his face in the shoulder of the plain black top Atem was wearing and held him so tightly Yuugi's arms trembled. Atem's returning hug was looser, the hug of a friend instead of a lover, and for a moment Yuugi felt his heart sink. Then Atem's arms tightened, and his lips touched the cup of Yuugi's ear.

"It was last night, then?"

Yuugi knew instantly what he was referring to. For some reason Atem had, on this track of time, stayed in the present . . . but to keep from destroying everything, he'd let Yuugi curse himself anyway. He'd had to. Yuugi nodded against Atem's shoulder.

"You're _here_."

"Yes, little Aibou."

Yuugi felt a grin spread over his face even as tears trickled out of his eyes. _Yes, little Aibou._ He squirmed closer. Flickers of memory, so like the ones he'd been having all day, were worming their way into his consciousness. Long discussions about how to ensure Yuugi's identity was not questioned, building a life for Atem here in Domino . . . and the thing that had started it all, the one thing that had changed and set off this whole chain of alien events: Atem's hand on top of his deck.

_"I surrender . . . I thought I was ready for this, but I'm not. Yuugi . . . can you forgive me?"_

Yes. Atem's memories had returned, this time with Yuugi already in them, and he had stayed because there was just the slightest, most miniscule chance that maybe they could pick up where they left off, that happy-ever after might really come to be. He'd tried not to change history, and hadn't completely succeeded. He found he didn't care. They'd still achieved their goal, and here was Atem, whole and alive, and he hadn't forgotten Yuugi after all.

"Yuugi! How many times do I have to tell you not to leave your bag on the . . . ?"

Jii-chan glanced into the storage room. A smile - small and knowing - crept over his face, and he shut the door to the room quietly, leaving Yuugi and Atem to their kisses and hellos. He set Yuugi's bag on the stool next to the counter, and turned on the radio.

It was supposed to be Atem's turn to watch the shop, but he'd been waiting for three thousand years, and Jii-chan thought they could be spared fifteen minutes.

_And their story, and my journey, and the lesson they provide . . . draw their strength and inspiration from a love that never died._


End file.
